Candidate for Goddess
by klengkleng
Summary: "Candidate for Goddess" this story is about a girl named "Carousel", who is about to discover her true enigmatic identity. This is a fantasy fiction story with a dark theme and is set in a different world... a dying world called "Eris" and "Erishans" people of Eris with extraordinary talents called "splitters" are living in that planet.


**CANDIDATE FOR GODDESS**

 **BY:**

 **Klengkleng**

 **Table of Contents**

Prologue … 3

Chapter One "Splitters" … 4

Chapter Two "A long way home" … 27

Chapter Three "The sudden disappearance of Emoreh" ….. 52

Chapter Four "Heraldin" …..… 59

Chapter Five "The bat-like beast" … 69

Chapter Six "Demeon" … 93

Chapter Seven "A turn of events" ….. 117

Chapter Eight "Conscience" ….. 132

Chapter Nine "Rookie" ….. 151

Chapter Ten "Soul Stealer" … 179

Chapter Eleven "Soul Seeker" … 204

Chapter Twelve "Book of Life" ….. 238

Chapter Thirteen "Embloig" …... 264

Chapter Fourteen "Mischief" ….. 284

Chapter Fifteen "The key" ….. 310

Chapter Sixteen "Home again" … 337

Chapter Seventeen "Soul entity" …. 352

Chapter Eighteen "The Purging" … 368

Chapter Nineteen "Assailant" …. 388

Chapter Twenty "Final Dream" ….. 411

Chapter Twenty one "Revelation" ….. 420

Chapter Twenty two "Iris at last" ….. 439

Credits … 456

 **CANDIDATE FOR GODDESS**

PROLOGUE

Out in the midst universe a small habitable planet just like Earth exists, a planet named _Eris_. Inhabitants of _Eris,_ also look somewhat just like humans, its people are called _Erishans_ with much lighter skin than humans because their planet can barely get enough light from their star _Asterie_.

Some _Erishans_ were able to crack their god given talents therefore they possess different kinds of skills and they are called _splitters_. Those are the kinds of inhabitants that are living in that planet.

For years, planet _Eris_ has been plagued with violent weather conditions since the end of the 'Great War' that took place in _Eris_ more than twenty years ago, leaving almost all the cities and towns in that world a ruin. Due to the circumstances of this post apocalyptic era, some _Erishans_ believed that their world is dying. People from _Eris_ or _Erishans_ were looking for salvation but no one seems to care, except for _Demeon_ \- a rich, past middle aged, male _Erishan_ who owns most of the business trades running in that planet.

The planet's atmosphere is being closely surrounded by millions of different sizes of asteroids from outer space, viciously encircling the planet. And it has been thought that the reason why there are millions of asteroids closely revolving around the planet... is to prevent the _Erishans_ from going out.

Chapter One "Splitters"

 _Carousel_ , likes to keep her diary in her slightly wrecked drawer, she takes it out and reads silently through the pages... -"I am walking–up, on this circular cloud like staircase and it is so high, as high as the heavens above and, there are these old _Erishans_ whom I cannot distinguish whether they were males or females, all I know is that they are old and they are all looking at me. Their hairs were silver white, and they were dressed in black and white. Printed in decorative patterns and designs, some of them have head dresses and some of them have not, some of them were standing and some of them were sitting, and as I am walking-up through that circular staircase, I was beginning to feel that it is getting harder and harder for me to breathe. The more I get to the top the more it gets misty and foggy and, as I am nearing the top of that circular staircase, some of the old _Erishans_ were no longer visible in my eyes, and then finally… I have reached the peak. I can now see a very bright light…" _Carousel_ paused from reading…

–"But, but that's all I can remember." _Carousel_ thought to herself as she was reading through the pages. –"I have nothing more to read, that is all there is to it." She sighted

-"I often dream of that scenario since I started to have a memory but, I don't know the meaning and the purpose of that dream, or what my purpose in life maybe for constantly having that dream, but I do know and, I do feel it deep down inside me that, that is no ordinary dream…" _Carousel_ thought to herself.

-"I don't know why… but why do I always want to write about my dream…?" _Carousel_ asked herself again. -"My dreams are always the same… and yet I still keep on writing about it." She added as she heavily sighed. -"There are still many things that I want to write about in my diary, like my special liking for Emoreh but, I don't know where to start and I sometimes feel lethargic and doesn't feel like writing about it." Said _Carousel_ to herself, she has mix and contradicting emotions about writing anything in her diary apart from her dreams.

-"I wonder where Rachael is…?" _Carousel_ suddenly asked herself as she awoke from her sleep the following day and, she had that same dream again.

-"It's been three years already since I last saw her, but where could have my best friend been all these years? I wish she was here; I really need her right now…" _Carousel_ told herself… feeling a bit guilty for not even thinking of _Rachael_ for such a long time since she disappeared. -"Emoreh, can't be much of a help right now…" she quickly thought, -"Because he is my problem…" _Carousel_ thought to herself with a tight smile on her face… she was unsure if she was telling the truth to herself, as her tight smile slowly withered in display.

And then suddenly… someone was heavily knocking at _Carousel's_ bedroom door, she quickly got up and opened it…

-"Mom…?" _Carousel_ slowly asked

It was her mother! With a smug facial expression on her face! And she boorishly said to _Carousel_ …

-"Why are you so hard to awake? Can't you even hear the phone ringing beside you? That I would even have to answer it from downstairs..!" She shouted -"Someone called you!"

But _Carousel_ still politely and softly replied -"Who…?"

-"It's Rachael!" Her mother yelled at her as the tone of her voice sounded like she was really irritated.

-"Now, pick up that phone!" She said aloud as her eyes narrowed in doubt and her face slightly tilted. –"I never thought that you sounded like your friend… Rachae! For a moment there, I thought that you were just playing with the telephone…!" Her mother said to her as she then gave _Carousel_ a mocking glaze…

-"Oh my…!" _Carousel_ cried, she was so surprised… -"Really mom…? Rachael?"

 _Carousel_ asked her mother again. -"But how…? Why so sudden…? It feels so weird…"

 _Carousel_ slightly shook her head as she mumbled to herself. -"But at least Rachael's here now… and that is all that matters." She thought to herself. -"All these years, mom… how did she know our number…? Our phone number…?" asked _Carousel_ as she still tried to sound polite even though the look on her mother's face was very upset.

And her mother just gave her a smacked facial expression. -"Of course she knows!" She yelled -"We haven't moved out or even changed our phone number ever since we got here! Silly!" Her mother explained and, she sounded very annoyed… for the telephone call interrupted her from whatever she was doing.

-"Oh yeah, silly me…" _Carousel_ just calmly admitted to herself, she picked up the phone beside her bed and her mother then immediately went downstairs while murmuring something to herself, _Carousel_ could still hear her mother's murmuring and she could feel the heavy weight of her mother's footsteps as she slowly closed the door and descended downstairs. But before _Carousel_ could even start to say anything to _Rachael_ … _Rachael_ then immediately said something to _Carousel_ on the phone… that astonishes her.

-"Carousel, I know that you have a problem… an emotional problem…!" _Rachael's_ voice was incitingly soft.

 _Carousel_ then suddenly burst into laughers as she soon realized that… -"How did you know…? Well… you always knew what my problems were, you have that amazing psychic thing going on in your mind and, that's why I've missed you so much." replied _Carousel_ on the phone as she was slightly taken aback.

 _Carousel_ then told _Rachael_ everything what was going on in her life, the things that had happened the last three years _Rachael_ was gone. They talked for hours on the telephone and, _Carousel_ asked her, why she's in the city? And it turns out to be… that _Rachael_ was also invited by the same academy that invited _Carousel_ as one of the few _Erishans_ who have special skills and abilities to qualify and join the academy.

-"Well… I'm not surprised if you were invited, because I can surely tell that you're one of the few who can see the future." _Carousel_ said to _Rachael_ on the phone… -"Wow…! That would be great!" _Carousel_ concluded… -"We would be at the same school and we would bond like we used to." Said _Carousel_

The following day, _Carousel_ saw _Rachael_ at their school's lobby, at… _Stellar_

 _Academy_ owned by _Demeon_ \- the school's possessor, whom they have never met nor seen before. _Demeon_ had put up the academy for free, to help _splitters_ enhance their special skills and develop into their full potential.

-"There she is, looking very beautiful as always, very well polished all the time and she even has the name which I very much like and she has all the qualities and aspects in life, which all I ever wanted and hoped for in my life." _Carousel_ murmured to herself upon seeing _Rachael_ from afar. And as _Carousel_ slowly approached _Rachael_ … they both instinctively gave each other a tight hug… for they haven't seen each other for quite some time.

-"Oh…! How I missed you so much Rachael!" _Carousel_ cried

-"I missed you too!" _Rachael_ replied as they were both holding each other's hands.

-"I am so glad that _Stellar Academy_ had invited you to join in… they might have seen you here somewhere in _Midgar city_ and saw your special skill." Said _Carousel_

-"Actually, I'm about to go to your place because I knew you had a problem, an emotional problem remember?" _Rachael_ quickly replied as her face nodded but her eyes did not move, because they were focused on _Carousel's_ … -"And that is why they have spotted me here in _Midgar city_ and then… they eventually invited me to join in this academy… and since it's just for free and it would also help me develop my abilities… therefore, I decided and said to myself… why not give it a try." _Rachael_ said with complete sincerity.

-"Wait, you said your main purpose here was to visit me?" interrupted _Carousel_ -"I know I have a problem, but it's not really that big of a deal…! It's just a minor emotional problem." Said _Carousel_ … -"I couldn't believe that you would even bother to visit me for that simple reason only." _Carousel_ said in a confused manner.

-" _Carousel_ …? You can lie to yourself but you can never lie to me." _Rachael_ said frankly

-"What…?" _Carousel_ cried in a more confused manner, she tries to cover her real emotions… -"You mean to say, you know me better than I know myself? That's just ridiculous!" Said _Carousel_ as her voice hits a higher note and, she stroke her right hand into the air.

 _Rachael_ just looked at _Carousel's_ eyes with intensity, as if reminding _Carousel_ what her abilities are! _Carousel_ then understood her message.

-"Oh… okay, I got it, not only can you predict the future but you can also read minds… right…? I see…" _Carousel_ was quick to admit and felt a little bit embarrassed.

-"I have the ability to see the future but it's not that clear, not that accurate yet, but I'm working on it!" said _Rachael_ as she paused for awhile and then continued saying… -"And the… mind reading thing…?" said _Rachael_ as her lips twitched… -"Well, actually I can't read other Erishan's thoughts, I can only read yours." _Rachael_ said with decency

-"How and why is that?" _Carousel_ quickly asked as her eyes slowly narrowed in curiosity.

 _Rachael_ sighed before answering… -"To be honest, I really don't know either." She paused for a while before continuing… -"Maybe… I still need to develop my mind reading skill, so I can also read other Erishan's thoughts… and that is also one reason why I accepted their offer, for me to develop my skills here in this academy."

-"By the way…" _Carousel_ interrupted again… -"Who were the ones who invited you to join and train here, in this academy…?" _Carousel_ continued to ask _Rachael_ , diverting the topic away from her emotional problem.

-"I believe… his name was Dimitris." replied _Rachael_ as she paused and her eyes narrowed and then she tries to recall if she got his name right. _Rachael_ felt a little bit different about him… -"Dimitris said to me that he is one of the trainers here, in this academy… and there's this another shaman with him… whom I never really got to know his name, because Dimitris was the only one who keeps asking and talking to me, as if he doesn't really want that other shaman to intervene with our conversation." Said _Rachael_ -"That poor old shaman, Dimitris just made him look like an escort to him." _Rachael_ said as she was slowly shaking her head.

-"Dimitris, was also the one who invited me to join and train here in this academy…"

 _Carousel_ abruptly said as she was pretending to look very surprised so she could completely ignore the emotional problem topic. -"Because one time… Dimitris saw me running through the _Ruins of Midgar_ and maybe he saw me… ran like the wind and he thought that I might have a special skill to develop and that is why he invited me to train here too, at _Stellar academy_." Said _Carousel_

-"Were you really running that fast Carousel? Because as far as I can remember, you really can't run that fast." _Rachael_ asked curiously

 _Carousel_ was quick to answer… -"Well… now, when I get very emotional, my reflexes tends to work faster and my adrenalin seems to pump harder that's why I am able to move, walk, run, jump, catch anything I want, and speak, etc. a lot quicker than my usual self, anything that has something to do with my reflexes – but only when I get really emotional that I could do all those things." Explained _Carousel_

-"And exactly, what kind of emotion must you really feel to do those kinds of things?" asked _Rachael_ as her eyebrows were pulled down and she expects an honest answer from _Carousel_.

 _Carousel_ couldn't answer quickly because she knows that _Rachael_ can read her thoughts and that she already knows the answer to her question and so there's no chance denying the truth to _Rachael_ … all _Carousel_ could think of is… -"How nice… we're back with this emotional problem thing again…" _Carousel_ thought to herself.

 _Carousel_ then tries to put a grin before answering back… -"Well you know, when I'm like angry or happy or sad… or…"

-"Or, in-love…?!" _Rachael_ quickly cried, interrupting _Carousel's_ exchange of conversation with her as if she doesn't want to hear anymore of _Carousel's_ complex answers.

-"Well… you could say that too." _Carousel_ unconsciously admitted as she was naively nodding her head. -"By the way, which field of training did they put you into?" _Carousel_ asked as they both started walking across the academy. She tries to divert the topic again.

-"Dimitris said, that my talents would be well suited in the 'PSYCHETENCY' study, which develops the talents of the mind; like mind strength, (telekinesis) mind reading, (telepathy) and psychic ability (the ability to see the future) all the abilities that has something to do with the mind." _Rachael_ explained as her eyes wonders around the huge atrium of the academy.

 _Carousel_ paused for a while, as she was a little bit curious before starting to ask another question to _Rachael_. -"And how did Dimitris know that you were suitable in the

'PSYCHETENCY' study…?" _Carousel_ strangely asked

-"He told me that… when he saw me here at _Midgar cit_ y, that he tried to read my mind, but he couldn't, because he also have this telepathy skill and since he can't read my mind… then that means that I too, have a telepathy skill." _Rachael_ again explained.

-"You mean to say that if someone has a telepathy skill, then that someone can't read the other _Erishan's_ mind who also has a telepathy skill?" _Carousel_ inquiringly asked

-"Exactly…" _Rachael_ answered… -"The same skill will cancel each other." And as

 _Rachael_ continued speaking… -"You can't read someone else's mind if that someone else can also read other Erishan's minds – that's what Dimitris told me… and I have never thought and realized about that, maybe because you are the only one that I can read." _Rachael_ sighted

-"Are you sure…? That I'm the only one that you can read…? Or maybe everybody else has a telepathy skill too that's why you can't read their minds." _Carousel_ teasingly said

-"That's just impossible!" _Rachael_ exclaimed -"My father also has a telepathy skill and he can read other Erishan's thoughts."

-"Well, how come that I'm the only one that you can read?" _Carousel_ pointed out

 _Rachael_ tries to analyze _Carousel's_ question before answering… -"I really don't know... but maybe that's why I'm here, to develop and enhance my skills." _Rachael_ replied

 _Carousel_ just nodded and asked… -"I wonder why Demeon has put up this academy to train Erishans who have special abilities and skills for free… I mean what's the purpose? If ever we had enhanced and developed our skills, what can we actually contribute to this dying world…?"

-"Who's Demeon?" _Rachael_ asked

-"Demeon, is the owner and possessor of this academy! And judging from what other _Erishans_ are saying, he was the one who gave the people of _Eris_ the hope they needed, because right after the 'Great War' that took place in this planet more than twenty years ago... _Erishans_ hated each other and the only feelings they had for each other is total abhorrence... and that is why Demeon had put up this academy to help rebuild the _Erishans_ hopes and trusts for each other... and that is what Dimitris told me. I was just a newly born when the 'Great War' was over. So I really don't remember anything about it." _Carousel_ slowly replied. -"I have never seen nor met _Demeon_ though... but I do want to meet him someday and thank him for all the things that he had done for all of us, for our world."

-"Well… _Dimitris_ also told me that this academy was actually put up to help the _Erishans_ , to lead the _Erishans_ and to educate the _Erishans_ , and I don't get it too, how would our special skills help? To lead and educate the people of _Eris_?" _Rachael_ questioned -"And isn't it everybody's responsibility to carry out their own predicaments in life?" _Rachael_ pointed out…

 _Carousel_ was hesitant to answer back.

-"Well… I'm just here to receive proper trainings, to improve my abilities and skills, and that's all!" _Rachael_ proudly concluded…

-"You're quite right!" _Carousel_ concluded too. -"We all have, and goes through the same challenges and problems in our daily lives and it's our responsibility to work it out ourselves, but we also have to take care of each other, especially in this city, we are just a mere hundreds and I think there's only a few thousands of _Erishans_ scattered all over this world." _Carousel_ sadly continued saying… -"And besides… we need leaders, because there are no leaders in this world, only ' _shamans_ ' to guide and teach us on how to live and survive in this world, that's why we need to look out for each other." _Carousel_ convincingly said to _Rachael_.

 _Rachael_ did not look convinced about what Carousel had said, but instead she rolled her eyes before answering back… -"We don't need leaders Carousel! Even the animals in this world doesn't need leaders to lead them in their daily lives, each and every one of us can manage to live in this world without a leader, that is why we were given proper teachings by the ' _shamans_ ' so that we know exactly what to do and, what not to do." _Rachael_ outspokenly explained. -"Like you said, we are just merely a hundreds in this city and each and every one of us is doing our own contribution and we are doing just fine… and I suppose that a lot of _Erishans_ from the past had already tried to lead this world to become a better place… but look where this world stands now? It's dying!" _Rachael_ exasperates -"I definitely don't see myself becoming one of those heroes! I'm just here to receive proper trainings. That's all!" _Rachael_ said as she heavily sighed.

 _Carousel_ handed Rachael a memo which she took out in her old and torn bag. And it reads;

[Once you have finished studying; which a teacher or a ' _SHAMAN_ ' will only teach you the basic strategy to survive… and the basic knowledge you need in your life, then… you are on your own to decide whatever you want to become in your life. Only the _Erishans_ , who could or have cracked and discovered their own natural hidden talents, are meant to proceed to the proper teachings and trainings…. they are now called ' _SPLITTERS_ ' who have successfully cracked their god given talents… and possesses special abilities, skills and talents. ' _Splitters_ ' aged slower than ordinary ' _Erishans'_ and because of these gifts. They will be invited by the head shaman of ' _Stellar Academy_ ' to train in either of the following fields:

1.) PSYCHETENCY, - Skills, abilities and talents, which the mind can achieve. (Mind reading, mind prediction or premonition and moving objects through the use of mind strength.)

2.) IMPULSY, – Skills, abilities and talents, which the physical body can achieve. (Faster reflexes, sharper senses, and stronger body strength.)

3.) ALCHEMY, - Skills, abilities and talents, which can be achieved with the power of innate knowledge and manmade tools. (Alchemists makes use of gadgets that they have invented or created that can change or transform a certain material into a different kind of material.)

 _Rachael_ then returned the memo back to _Carousel_ , after reading it, she was looking unimpressed. As _Carousel_ tries to respond to _Rachael_ , she saw _Emoreh_ and _Faust_ fast approaching towards them and, so they decided to postpone their conversation. _Emoreh_ then greeted _Carousel_ as they were getting near them.

-"Hi…! _Carousel_ , I just saw you from afar and it looks like you were talking to somebody…" _Emoreh_ oddly said as he slowly turns around in circles to observe their surroundings.

 _Carousel_ was then a little bit annoyed by _Emoreh's_ statement and she begins to speak in a higher tone… -"Of course I am… I was talking to my best friend _Rachael_ …" replied

 _Carousel_ as she knew that _Emoreh_ had just ignored her friend _Rachael_. –"You are such a snub Emoreh!" said _Carousel_ as she was shaking her head.

 _Emoreh_ then looked strangely at _Faust's_ eyes with his eyebrows pulled down. _Faust_ then approached and greeted _Rachael_ -"You must be _Carousel's_ friend." _Faust_ gladly said

 _Emoreh_ was puzzled and he felt unusual for _Carousel_ , but he tried to observe and conceal his peculiarities. His eyebrows were pulled down, looking a bit envious.

-"Yes, I am…" _Rachael_ replied excitedly

-"I'm Faust…"

-"Nice to meet you… Faust, I'm Rachael." She eagerly said

 _Faust_ nodded and said -"Nice to meet you too…, Rachael?" He clarified

 _Rachael_ just smiled at him.

 _Emoreh_ was astonished of what he had witnessed and insinuated _Carousel_ that he ought to be introduced to _Rachael_ next, _Carousel_ got the hint and introduced _Rachael_ to _Emoreh_.

-"Rachael this is Emoreh. Emoreh …, this is my friend Rachael." _Carousel_ said while being vigilant of what _Emoreh_ might say and act towards her friend.

 _Emoreh_ looked straight at _Faust_ and _Carousel_ first, and then he sighted before looking at _Rachael's_ direction. -"Nice to meet you…" That's all _Emoreh_ said, as the tone of his voice hits to a drop, thinking if he had done the right thing, and he quickly looked at

 _Carousel_ and asked her… -"Are you going straight home today after the trainings? Because if you do, I would like to walk you home, because I have something very important to tell you." Said _Emoreh_ as he pleaded, he was completely ignoring his opening remarks to _Rachael_.

 _Carousel_ then felt rude for _Emoreh's_ approach, but she felt a little bit content, because she knows that _Emoreh_ must have been just jealous of _Rachael_ , him knowing that _Rachael_ was her best friend.

-"Yes, I'm going straight home after the trainings." _Carousel_ was keen to answer; she felt that _Emoreh_ was going to offer her something.

-"Then I'll just… see you afterwards…" _Emoreh_ whole heartedly said to _Carousel_ , as he immediately turned his back and began to walk away, _Faust_ then followed him, having no ample time to even say goodbye to _Carousel_ and _Rachael_.

-"Hey wait up! What's the big rush?" _Faust_ cried to _Emoreh_

-"Nothing…!" _Emoreh_ replied as he continued walking away

-"Nothing…? Well… that doesn't look like 'NOTHING' to me…" _Faust_ pointed out and curiously asked, as the tone of his voice hits to a drop. -"I know that it's none of my business, but why were you acting so strange?" _Faust_ surprisingly asked again as his eyebrows were pulled up.

-"Me…? Acting strange…? What do you mean I'm acting strange? No I'm not!" _Emoreh_ was quick to defend himself -"It's just that I wanted to tell something very important to Carousel and it's so frustrating that it has to wait…" _Emoreh_ concluded

-"And what is so important that you can't even wait to tell her?" _Faust_ intriguingly asked as he was very anxious of what _Emoreh_ might say to _Carousel_.

-"I thought you just said you don't want to bug into someone else's business…?" an irritated _Emoreh_ asked and slowly turning his head away from _Faust_ and he was a little bit annoyed by the circumstances.

-"Alright…" replied _Faust_ while unwrapping both of his hands from being tightly closed and raising them at the level of his shoulders… -"I know…, I'm not going to ask you anymore." _Faust_ said, still anxious and his lips were pressed in a thin tight line.

As _Emoreh_ and _Faust_ were walking away and they were out of sight from _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ , _Carousel_ asks for _Rachael's_ understandings.

-"Oh, I'm so sorry for _Emoreh's_ manner, I know that he doesn't really intended to be rude to you, it's just that he really has this attitude of ignoring people that he doesn't like and, he knows that you are my best friend, so he might have thought that you and I are goanna be in somebody's company all the time again and, that I may not have any more time for him, so I think he was just being jealous of you." _Carousel_ assured, completely forgetting the last topic she and _Rachael_ were having.

 _Rachael_ hastily replied… -"Actually, he did not completely ignore me… and honestly, it doesn't really matter what he might think of me and, I don't even care if I don't exist in his mind, it's not a big deal you know."

-"You… mean to say, _Emoreh's_ actions were just fine with you?" _Carousel_ slowly asked as her lips twitched… still anxious of what _Rachael_ might say next.

-"Of course…!" _Rachael_ exclaimed -"I'm fine with it and, besides you said that he really has this attitude of ignoring people that he doesn't like right? So… it's understandable and, I couldn't care less." _Rachael_ bluntly said -"And I suppose I'm not the only one who had to put up with his extraordinary conduct." She concluded as she tucked her wavy long dark brown hair in her ear.

 _Carousel_ sighed and was relived upon hearing _Rachael's_ blatant statement. She didn't want her best friend and the love of her life to have a friction between them. And so to further comfort _Rachael_ , Carousel thought that it would enlighten her up if she brings out the other _splitter_ that gets into _Emoreh's_ attitude.

-"Yes, you're absolutely right, there is also this girl… her name is Emery… and Emoreh tends to ignore her every time he sees her." _Carousel_ abruptly said while looking for some place else for them to sit…

-"Who's Emery? What have she done? Is she a friend of yours? Don't tell me that it's the same reason why _Emoreh_ might be jealous of again?" _Rachael's_ voice was now beginning to sound irritated.

-"No…! Of course not…! She's not my friend…" _Carousel_ replied with a smacked facial

expression as her eyebrows were pulled down… but then she was later silenced for a while… -"Well, she used to be… but then I felt that she was trying to avoid me and I felt that she was also trying to separate _Emoreh_ away from me when she found out that _Emoreh_ had a huge crush on her and, that is why I started to avoid her too."

-"So now you're not friends with Emery…? For that simple reason only…?"

-"Well… it's really hard to say but she was the one who started all these, if only had she not try to draw Emoreh away from me, I guess we would still be friends today… and besides I really have a strong feeling that she was the one making all the moves to attract Emoreh and that is why Emoreh fell for her… but we do still talk to one another once we cross paths with each other, but it's not like we're really that close friends, we are just very civil with each other right now… anyways, Emoreh used to have a huge crush on her, but he didn't pursue it any longer… he told me that he had lost his interest in Emery because she was so hard to please and did not even show the slightest token of appreciation to what he was doing for her."

-"And now, Emoreh is ignoring her for that same simple reason only…?" _Rachael_ asked again as she rolled her eyes… -"He's just bitter!" _Rachael_ pointed out.

 _Carousel_ just sighed, her lips were pressed in a thin line and she felt that there is truthfulness in _Rachael's_ words that's why she did not bother to answer back, all she said was… -"Come Rachael, let's sit over here." As she held _Rachael's_ hand, leading her to sit at the broad handrails of the academy's balcony

-"By the way, are they training in the same field?" _Rachael_ asked

-"Who…?"

-"Emoreh and Faust of course…!"

-"Oh yes, they are… they are both training in the field of alchemy, but Faust is already a senior and he is training in the higher level of alchemy… he is the best alchemist this academy has and, I think he's a little bit older than we are." _Carousel_ replied

 _Rachael_ paused before asking again… -"What does the field of alchemy requires, for you to qualify…?"

 _Carousel's_ eyes partially narrowed, thinking the things she knew before answering back… -"I guess 'ALCHEMY' is the only field in our academy that has NO requirements for showing obvious talents... I think… you are only required to be intellectually intelligent in that field, unlike in the field of 'IMPULSY' and 'PSYCHETENCY' where there should be a noticeable talent, like what we both have. In alchemy, it's all up to you to gauge your own skills and abilities, and if you think that you have what it takes to be an alchemist… then you are very much welcome to join in this academy and besides, it's just for free, so there's no harm in trying." _Carousel_ explained -"But I'm not really sure if that's the case, now that you've mentioned it, I would like to ask Emoreh if that really is the case." Said _Carousel_ as her manner of speaking became very curious.

-"Yes, go ahead and ask him what talent he possesses because I'm sure he has none."

 _Rachael_ slowly and vulgarly said as the tone of her voice settled down that nobody can even hear the last words she spoke.

But _Carousel_ heard everything she said clearly, not only does her reflexes were improving but also because her senses tends to be sharper, as her eyes slowly looked down… and she said… -"Speaking of asking Emoreh … he told me that he has something to tell me right after the trainings… hmmm… I wonder what it could be…" _Carousel_ excitedly said completely disregarding _Rachael's_ judgment towards _Emoreh_.

-"Well… what do you think he will tell you?" _Rachael_ intriguingly asked

-"I think… (As _Carousel's_ eyes flickered in anticipation) I think… he's going to propose his love for me, telling me how he truly loves me… and that he doesn't want me to end up with somebody that is not him… I can just feel it…, I just know that his likings for me are more than just the friendly thing, I just know it." _Carousel_ said with complete enthusiasm, while trying to conceal the overwhelming feeling of bliss that is about to explode in her chest.

 _Rachael_ sympathetically asked _Carousel_ … -"Is that what you really think he will do?" as her eyes partially closed. -"You really are, so much in-love with him." _Rachael's_ voice started to sound really concern. -"I mean… I can't blame you… who wouldn't fall in love with a guy like Emoreh …? He looks so perfect." _Rachael_ sincerely said

 _Carousel_ blushed upon hearing _Rachael's_ declaration but then again she tries to conceal her true feelings. -"Rachael, you got it all wrong…!" cried _Carousel_ … -"I said…, I think _Emoreh_ is the one who feels more than just the friendly thing towards me, not the other way around."

 _Carousel_ explained but she couldn't even convince herself while saying those words to _Rachael_.

-"Really…?" _Rachael_ sighed; and she looked at _Carousel's_ eyes with so much intensity again, as if reminding her again what her abilities are.

 _Carousel_ then got the message… -"Oh I hate you!" _Carousel_ expressed with a friendly grunt. -"Why can you read my mind…? It's so unfair." The tone of her voice sounded really frustrated.

 _Rachael_ then just smiled at _Carousel_ with absolute understanding.

-"But… I do… I do feel that I… really do love him…, should I tell him…? That I love him…?" _Carousel_ asked worriedly

-"No…!" _Rachael_ strongly replied -"I strongly suggest that you do not" Her voice was sturdy as she said those words to _Carousel_ … -"Let him tell you first, what he wants to tell you… then, you can tell him what you really wanted to say to him." _Rachael_ said as she acted very demanding. _Carousel_ was speechless and clueless.

Then… a few more minutes and the school bell rang, it indicated that the class break was over and that the trainings are about to continue… _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then got up from their sitting positions, _Carousel_ got up first… -"Oh, break's over, I better return to class now." _Carousel_ said as she was still blushing from their conversation. -"So, I'll just see you tomorrow then." She said and was about to wave her hand goodbye when she noticed that _Rachael_ was looking at her unhappily. -"Oh, common' this is the first time we've seen each other in years. Don't look at me like that Rachael." _Carousel_ implied -"I know that you're not fond of Emoreh but you'll soon like him, once you get to know him better." she said convincingly.

 _Rachael_ then took a deep breath before answering back… -"Well, I'm looking forward to that moment…" She replied as she sounded almost believable.

 _Carousel_ just smiled at her… as she was feeling a bit awkward. -"Bye Rachael…" said

 _Carousel_ as she paused, while waving her hand awkwardly and was looking down… and then she turned around…

-"Bye…" _Rachael_ softly said too, sounding very concern.

Then the two proceeded on their own designated classes.

 _Carousel_ then entered the training room for 'IMPULSY' trainees… together with her few fellow _splitters_. They walked into their own selected places to start training; the rooms were really huge considering that there is only handful of _splitters_ training in it. And as they were training, _Dimitris_ – the head trainer and the head 'Shaman' of Stellar Academy, walked in and told them; -"Listen…, all of you." The tone of his voice was intriguing, and everybody then had suddenly stopped what they were doing and started to pay attention to _Dimitris_. -"Do all of you still remember about the creature that I once told you…? I forgot what it's called, but it's the water creature?" _Dimitris_ eagerly asked and his voice was very nasally.

-"Yes sir, why…? What about that water creature?" _Carousel_ quickly replied.

-"Well, like what I have said before, a creature like that is so elusive, so rare to find and so hard to capture…" said _Dimitris_ as he started to walk back and forth. -"And that is why I don't remember what it's called." He mumbled to himself with a slight snort. -"Since all of you are training in the field of 'IMPULSY', it would be a very good training for each and every one of you… if you could actually catch and capture one." He loudly said to them sounding very convincing.

-"But we have no idea what that creature looks like or even what that creature's name is…?" One of the _splitters_ asked

-"Yes sir, how can we catch and bring one, if we don't know what that creature looks like." Again, one of the _splitters_ concluded.

 _Carousel_ then thought for a second… reminiscing the time when she was just a little girl, when she saw a bizarre shaped water creature rising in front of her while she was walking through the edges of _Lake Midgar_. She wanted to tell and share her experience to the whole class thinking that it might help them uncover the secrets of the elusive water creature but…

 _Dimitris_ unexpectedly interrupted as soon as she was about to start to tell them her experience.

-"I know it's hard to look for something that you haven't even seen before, but that's the part of your training… sharpening your senses." _Dimitris_ said as his manner of talking was very discourteous as if teasing them. -"Although these so called, water creatures has been rarely studied, I do know for a fact that it lives under water." _Dimitris_ snorted and was about to burst in laughter.

Every _splitter_ in the room just looked at each other's eyes with annoyance towards _Dimitris_ and some of them just rolled their eyes.

–"Sharpening our senses?" One of the _splitters_ softly and infuriately asked -"I don't see the connection…" The _splitter_ concluded

 _Dimitris_ then walked out of the room snorting, covering his mouth with his one hand in a fist position… leaving everybody in that room puzzled and irritated.

-"I really don't like that shaman…!" One of the _splitters_ cried as soon as _Dimitris_ left the room.

-"Neither do I…, and that annoying high pitch voice!" One of the _splitters_ exclaimed while trying to clear his ear with his little finger. –"Isn't that too much of a sharpening…?" he asked sarcastically.

As soon as _Dimitris_ walked out of that room, every _splitter_ then continued practicing their talents, one of them were neither training nor reading and, the other is doing stretching and running while… _Carousel_ … was doing nothing. She was so excited for the class to be over. She was very eager to see _Emoreh_ , and for what he would have to say to her when he walks her home after the class. The bell rang again and it means that class was now over for the day. _Carousel_ then rushed out of their room, ran so fast along the corridors and finally, to make it look like she wasn't really in a hurry, she started walking slowly outside the building. She then looked at the time on her clock necklace which _Emoreh_ made and gave to her as a symbol of their friendship. _Carousel_ subsequently slowly looked up at the main building of 'Stellar Academy' observing its majestic architecture while waiting for _Emoreh_.

[The city of _Midgar_ or ' _Midgar city_ ' is a very highly-technologically advanced city and ' _Stellar Academy_ ' is the focal point and the very heart of ' _Midgar city_ ' and, its structure is like a colossal candelabrum made with super steel, with three vigorous shafts soaring up through the skies and, the shaft at the center being the highest and the most robust of the three and, the two other thinner, shorter shafts located at its sides are slowly rotating. It makes use of wind energy that's why the two shorter shafts at the sides are spinning. It's habitually very windy at ' _Midgar city_ ' and, almost all the buildings and all the roads at ' _Midgar city_ ' are also made of super steel metal which is much stronger and much more flexible than concrete; to also withstand the usual quakes which the city is experiencing.]

And as _Carousel_ was observing and was looking up at ' _Stellar Academy_ ', she heard a soft voice coming from behind…

-"Did I make you wait too long?" an enticing voice asked _Carousel_ , as she then quickly looked down from looking up at the main building and turned around to find, _Emoreh_ looking at her from behind.

-"No…, not at all…! I just got here recently myself." _Carousel_ kindly replied while she was trying to clear her throat from being taken aback by _Emoreh_ while she was busy looking up at ' _Stellar Academy_ '.

-"Can we then go now…?" _Emoreh_ abruptly asked her

-"Sure…" _Carousel_ excitedly replied as her eyes widened in anticipation.

The two of them, then walked on a road that leads to their allocated shelters.

Chapter Two "A long way home"

[ _Carousel_ and _Emoreh_ both lives at the ' _Ruins of Midgar_ ' located just outside north of ' _Midgar city_ '.]

As they were walking, _Emoreh_ couldn't wait to tell _Carousel_ what he wanted to tell her. The trees along the road were barely alive and the weather was very cold and windy.

-"I want to tell you something Carousel." _Emoreh_ eagerly said

-"What is it…?" _Carousel_ unhurriedly asked as if she was enjoying the excitement that she sees in _Emoreh's_ face. _Carousel_ was so enthusiastic to hear what _Emoreh_ will have to say to her and she thought to herself:

"Emoreh … just seeing you every day and every time is already making me so happy, but if you would ask me to be with you, to run away with you and to return the love that you consider for me… then that would make me the happiest girl in the world… and I don't want to sound ungrateful, but before I met you, my life literally had no meaning…, no significance, I perceive life as a mind-numbing routine, where all of us are just doing something, inventing something, achieving something, creating all the things that we can possibly create time and again - and we're doing all these… simply just to make ourselves busy. And that was my perception in life before, but when I met you… you gave a new meaning to my life, you literally made me want to wake up every day, just so I can see you. You made me appreciate the things in my surroundings, telling me that things should never be just taken for granted, because you said… that no one and nothing in this world is without any value and, that I can learn from anything and anyone in this world. And even though at times, things are becoming repetitive - it's our choice to like it or not… and I realized everything you said was true. And for the last three years we've known each other, I have been dreaming of this…, you… walking me home and revealing your true feelings for me, - This might not be the first and only time that you and I walked through this barren and desolated road heading to the ' _Ruins of Midgar_ ' but this time, it feels so different, - because you don't usually tell me something that I should even wait for, when you wanted to tell me something, you always tell it to me right away, that's how straightforward you are, that's how truthful you are. I know that it was so lame of me, that it took me three long years for you to really like me, but at least I still made you fall into liking me…, because now, you have finally realized that no one else gives you the attention, the concern and, especially the love that I am giving you. I know that you are just returning the affections that I am giving you because that's also how you feel about me, you are just being true to yourself and feelings, but saying it formally to me will just seal the union between us. And I don't easily get impressed, but you certainly can impress me with your truthful nature." _Carousel_ unconsciously smiled as she thought those words to herself…

 _Carousel_ then slowly looked down… she waited for _Emoreh_ to tell her what he wanted to tell her, as she tucked her hair unto her ear, because it was really windy. _Carousel_ slightly shut her eyes, enjoying the scenery around them… even though the clouds up above are gray and the skies are dark red. The clouds were now slowly turning into an even darker shade of gray and it looks like it is going to rain heavily again soon.

-"But it's really such a refreshing feeling to be with you… Emoreh, even if the weather conditions here are always such turmoil." _Carousel_ thought to herself again as she slowly looked at _Emoreh's_ face, his face was filled with excitement. _Carousel's_ eyes were full of eagerness, as she delayed her answer when _Emoreh_ told her that he wanted to tell her something, _Carousel_ still wanted to enjoy the reaction she's seeing in _Emoreh's_ face but she soon finally asked… -"What… is it?" as _Carousel_ slowly turned her face away from _Emoreh_ … pretending to look at where they were heading at and preparing to look as if she's going to be surprised if _Emoreh_ starts to tell her what she's been eagerly wanting him to say to her…

-"Remember Emery…?" _Emoreh_ quickly asked and he really sounded excited, his voice sounded really perky.

-"What…! What about Emery…?" _Carousel_ jolted and slowly asked as she was taken aback and tries to clear her throat, she was confused and _Emoreh_ really did surprise her.

-"Well, I wasn't telling you that I was actually pursuing her again lately, because you might think that I'm really making it hard on myself and I don't want you to worry about it and, it would be so embarrassing for me, to let you know that I will get rejected by her again if things goes on the same, but the truth is, I wasn't over her and, now… she finally decided to give me another chance."

-"…" _Carousel_ was speechless and stunned upon hearing those words from _Emoreh_ ; she couldn't believe what she had just heard from him. She felt like there was a huge vacuum of channel sucking her whole body and, then throwing her into the complete abyss of emptiness, she couldn't breathe and, she couldn't speak, as if she had swallowed a big rock that got stuck in her throat.

-"Carousel, is there something wrong?" _Emoreh_ quickly asked, as he was looking very concern at _Carousel's_ awkward situation.

-"No... Nothing…" _Carousel_ abruptly replied as she slowly cleared her throat. -"Why would there be something wrong…?" her voice was obviously shaking. -"That's… good, she finally gave you a chance, I'm really happy for you!" _Carousel_ said, but she couldn't even convince herself that she really sounded happy for them. She then tried to keep her composure.

-"Why… thank you!" _Emoreh_ said with a tight smile as he wonders a bit.

 _Carousel's_ eyes widened as she couldn't believe that he was actually convinced that she was really happy for him… he was so naïve in her point of view.

-"As long as you are happy… with her, then I'm happy for you too… and for the both of you." _Carousel_ said, while trying to conceal her real feelings, she tried swallowing the fluids that had accumulated in her mouth because of the stress that she had unexpectedly felt and there seems to be an extreme pain which she was suddenly experiencing in her chest – but then she thought… maybe it was just because of the circumstances.

 _Emoreh_ held both her hands while they stopped momentarily from walking, and he stared at her sincerely, and said… -"Carousel… I am so glad that you're happy for me and I wish that you could also experience the same feeling that I am experiencing right now, if only I could make you feel what I am feeling right now… you will certainly forget your own name, because all that you will be remembering is Emery's name… I mean his name…" _Emoreh_ quickly corrected himself. -"I mean… whoever that guy is, that you are in-love with…"

He suddenly released her hands probably realizing what he had just said to her. -"Or, is there any…?" _Emoreh_ unhurriedly asked, having completely no idea what _Carousel_ was really feeling.

 _Carousel's_ jaw inadvertently dropped and then she quickly shut it back, as soon as she realized that it involuntarily opened. It was the first time that she had wished for an earthquake to occur in front of her, (Although earthquakes are very common in planet ' _Eris_ ', especially at the ' _Ruins of Midgar_ '.) _Carousel_ wished for the ground to open in front of her and consume her, so she can just disappear from this very unfortunate event.

She tried her best to compose herself before looking at him again in the eyes and she slowly replied… -"Yes… I can see your contentment and, I hope that I could also experience what you are experiencing right now… but no, there is no… other… guy, that I… I… love… I mean… I… I like." She slowly said, as they continued walking and _Carousel_ could hardly finish what she was saying. She just hoped that she wasn't acting miserable in front of _Emoreh_.

-"Thank you… but, contentment…?" _Emoreh_ asked with a smug face. -"I am not just contented Carousel, I am extremely… extremely happy!" His voice was thunderous as he was raising his arms in the air and, for a second it seemed that the dark gray clouds up above them had produced a terrifying lightning that signified his victory for Emery.

Seeing _Emoreh_ in his reactions just made _Carousel_ pity herself, but she… still manages to put up a convincing smile… -"I… see, but…" _Carousel_ was having second thoughts when… _Emoreh_ … quickly interrupted.

-"But… what…?" He interrupted

 _Carousel_ wanted to ask him, why she didn't have any idea that he was still madly in-love with Emery which she didn't even became aware of and, that _Carousel_ thought that he was falling in-love with her.

-"But… I guess it's all up to me to realize all those things." _Carousel_ then just softly said to herself and, all that she said to him was… -"I'm… I'm just here… if you need me… I'm just here Emoreh." _Carousel_ still looking mystified of how quickly things had happened.

 _Emoreh_ hugged her and whispered… -"I know… I know that you will always be here for me, you were my only companion through my loneliest of times and I hope that it will still remain the same." But the tone of his voice was worried

She hastily answered -"What are you talking about? Of course, we will still remain friends." _Carousel_ made it sound like everything was just normal. -"What makes you think that we won't remain friends?" She asked with civility, but deep inside her, she was still hurting and was trying to compose herself.

-"Well… uhm…" As he released _Carousel_ from being tightly hugged… his eyebrows were pulled down. -"I just thought that…" _Emoreh_ said and then looked at her as if he was analyzing her thoughts, he then rubbed his head.

 _Carousel_ looked down and then slowly looked at him in the eyes once more; she was feeling a bit wary of what he might be telling her again, as if she hadn't had enough. Her eyebrows were pulled down, being impatient while waiting for him to speak.

-"You don't seem to have… a special liking for me? Do you?" _Emoreh_ slightly shook his head and sounded a bit sarcastic.

-"Of course not…! I certainly don't!" _Carousel_ quickly replied with a smacked facial expression and, her eyebrows were pulled down to make it look like she was bothered about his statement, but the sound of her voice was obviously not convincing at all… her eyes slowly narrowed. -"Why would I feel that I have a special liking for you…?" The tone of her voice was starting to sound aggravated. -"I see you as a friend… as a friend only and, that is all there is to it, nothing… more and, nothing less." She was feeling really hurt when she said those words.

 _Emoreh_ partly nodded, while still looking at her… -"That's… that's… right." he slowly said -"I'm just making it clear, because I don't want to get the wrong impressions about your actions towards me." He sounded worried

-"No…! Not at all… why would you even get the wrong ideas? My actions towards you were just plain and friendly gestures. That's all." But _Carousel_ was very sure that she wasn't sounding believable…

-"So… we're still friends' right…?" _Emoreh_ asked, he was not looking very convinced…

-"Definitely…!" _Carousel_ cried…

-"Then, why don't I see it in your face that you really are happy for me…?" _Emoreh_ slowly questioned _Carousel_ …

-"Don't… I…? I… don't look happy…? You think that I don't look happy…?" Her words were crumbling… -"Of course I am…! See…" As she puts up a convincing smile… _Carousel_ then tried to clear her throat again before saying… -"Oh… look…, here we are at the ' _Ruins of Midgar_ ' how time flies by so quickly…" She said, whereas the truth is… she felt like it took them years to walk through that barren road.

-"I'm heading this way…" _Carousel_ said, as she pointed her finger to her left. -"And you are heading, that way… right…?" As she pointed her finger to her right, _Carousel_ still tried to sound thankful, since _Emoreh_ had accompanied her to walk through that road.

Then she hugged him and wished nothing more for him but to be just happy with Emery.

-"I better get going… I still have lots of house hold works to do before night falls." _Carousel_ reprimanded, even though there is really no work for her to do at home, she really didn't feel like lying to _Emoreh_ , but this time, she felt like it was needed. She needed an excuse.

-"At least, let me… walk you… until you get home." _Emoreh_ slowly insisted

-"No, I'm okay… I'll be fine, really." She tried convincing him -"I can manage to go home alone, as if I haven't walked this ruins for so many years, I grew up here, remember?" said _Carousel_ as she tried to sound very perky…

 _Emoreh_ nodded and his pressed lips were keen to open before asking… -"So, are you going to train at Stellar Academy Tomorrow…?"

 _Carousel_ automatically anticipated that she won't be able to go to the academy the following morning feeling so miserable… so she calmly replied… -"Uhm… I… don't know… I also have lots of things to do tomorrow." said she -"Maybe… after tomorrow, I guess." She persuasively replied as she said goodbye and turned around. And while she was walking away from _Emoreh_ … she didn't even bother to turn around and look back at him again, she felt like she didn't care if he was following her or if he was still looking at her back, _Carousel_ just continued walking and didn't even care and, she felt so wasted… all the while, she thought _Emoreh_ was in love with her because he was surely returning back her affections for him.

-"How could I possibly misunderstand his affections for me…? I'm certain that his fondness towards me is more than just the friendly thing, but then, I guess… I was just keenly falling in love with him all the time… and maybe that's why I didn't became aware that he was also and still ardently in-love with Emery… but then again, how could I get it wrong? His actions were positively true, I'm sure of it…" _Carousel_ said to herself feeling unsure. -"But now… I guess… I guess… that it only seems to feel that it's true… but it's obviously not." said _Carousel_ to herself as she wanted to cry… because she pity herself and she felt betrayed… but yet, the feeling of being deceived and shocked is what she was feeling the most.

 _Carousel_ could now see their shelter from a near distance, she wanted to run, to seek comfort, but she couldn't move her feet very well, every step she takes is sluggish.

-"Why can't I move my feet well…? Oh, maybe because my reflexes had something to do with my emotions and I am certainly feeling miserable and exhausted right now." She thought to herself.

[The shelters at the ' _Ruins of Midgar_ ' are usually modern buildings that are slightly wrecked… or severely wrecked, with trees mostly growing from the inside of the shelters, sprouting throughout the windows, doors, and roofs or any outlet that it can afford to emerge, vines and shrubs are also recognizable on the walls inside and outside the shelters.]

As _Carousel_ was barely walking from a miserable situation, she noticed a shadow emerging from one of the surviving standing pillars from the ruins. She hesitated at first, because she can hardly see the shadow for it was already dusk and very windy. She tried to partly shut her eyes from the windy conditions to focus on the shadow but her senses weren't that sharp because of what she was feeling. But then she noticed that it was… _Rachael_ who was coming out of that pillar…

-"Rachael…? Is that you? What are you doing here…?" _Carousel_ surprisingly asked

-"Yes it's me, I hope you're alright." _Rachael_ replied, she looked worried as she walks closer to _Carousel_ …

 _Carousel_ paused for a while thinking… -"How …? Oh, I get it… you've predicted that this would happen…? Right…?" she softly and faintly asked

-"Yes…" _Rachael's_ voice was hardly heard

-"That's why you came here?"

 _Rachael_ just nodded

-"Why didn't you tell me sooner…? So I could have avoided this miserable experience." As _Carousel_ starts walking, bypassing _Rachael_

-"Even though I can see your future, I can only see a glimpse of it… and I can only see the actions not hear it." said _Rachael_ as she quickly tries to follow _Carousel_ from behind –"And besides, I can't see what _Emoreh's_ future is… I can only see yours… so I'm not totally sure what lies within your future because he had interfered". _Rachael_ explained as she sighed -"And it doesn't mean that when I see a glimpse of the future that it is always sure to happen… things can always have a peculiar twist you know, that is why I decided not to tell you the things that I saw… and who knows what could have happened if only you have tried to tell him first, what your feelings for him are. Maybe _Emoreh_ could have told you a different confession… Oh, I should have told you to confess your love for him first. It's my entire fault. Oh, I'm so sorry Carousel." _Rachael_ said as she tries to comfort her beloved friend.

-"No, I don't think so…" _Carousel_ abruptly replied -"You are not the one to be blamed, and from the looks of him, _Emoreh_ looked so excited and enthusiastic to tell me something, so he's probably really determined to tell me his feelings for Emery and, besides I don't want him lying about his true feelings for me if ever I got the chance to tell him first what my feelings for him are, because I would only be just fooling myself. Things have turned out to be the way I didn't expect it to be… but at least now… I got to know the truth… and it's a little bit hard to accept it right now but I'm sure I'll get over this soon." _Carousel_ said while still feeling exhausted from the situation.

-"Well, I can see that you are feeling a little bit better now, so no need for me to worry right...?" _Rachael_ walked closer to _Carousel_ and hugged her tightly. -"I came all the way here to check if you were alright… and from the looks of it… you are now. If only you knew how I really care about you Carousel" _Rachael_ whispered, as she slowly released her hand from hugging Carousel. -"I'll probably be going home now, because it's getting dark and it's still a long way for me to get home." _Rachael_ said

-"No, please don't go…" _Carousel_ quickly held _Rachael's_ hand when she was about to leave. -"It's already nightfall and it looks like it's going to rain again, so please come home with me and stay here just for tonight." _Carousel_ pleaded

 _Rachael_ read _Carousel's_ mind and felt that she was really needed by _Carousel_ , that's why she decided to accept _Carousel's_ plea.

A few more walks and they had finally reached _Carousel's_ shelter, just in time as the heavy rain started to pour, _Carousel_ lives with her mother in an abandoned and slightly wrecked, slightly tilted three storey building, with a big tree that grew at the entrance of the building sprouting towards the second and third floor, where _Carousel's_ bedroom is located.

-"Come let's climb this tree, it will lead us to my room." _Carousel_ said

-"Why do we have to climb that tree…? Isn't there any stairs in this building?" _Rachael_ asked as she looked around to find one…

-"But this would take us less time to get to my room, rather than walk those narrow stairs and, besides this tree is so much more reliable than those puny looking stairs." Replied

 _Carousel_ as she was about to climb that tree.

 _Rachael_ looked at the fragile looking stairs near the entrance and she was convinced and that she decided to go after _Carousel_.

 _Carousel_ was so used to climbing that tree and that her reflexes was now working much faster again and, it only took her a few seconds to reach her room, when she noticed that

 _Rachael_ was still stuck in the middle of the tree struggling for her balance.

-"Shh… be quiet, you might wake her up." Said _Carousel_ when _Rachael_ began making some raucous sounds, she begged _Rachael_ in a quiet soft voice.

-"Who…?"

-"My mom, she maybe sleeping at the ground floor or at the second, I don't know. But

I'm sure she's already sleeping at this time."

-"Well, come and help me then." _Rachael_ quietly demanded

 _Carousel_ helped _Rachael_ afterwards as they entered her room through a wrecked window.

-"Why are you so worried that your mom might awake? Is it because she may scold you if she finds out that you got home this late?"

-"I'm glad if that's the case… but no… she doesn't care whether I'm home early or late and, she doesn't even care if I'm here or not, all she cares about is her sleep and her activities. And she definitely doesn't want her nap to be disturbed, and that is why I told you to try, not to wake her up."

 _Rachael_ looked worried about what she had just heard and slightly nodded.

-"So is it all right for your father if you spend the night here? Will he worry?" _Carousel_ asked _Rachael_

-"Of course he'll worry! He's probably worrying about me right now, so I better call him." said _Rachael_ while she was looking for a telephone

 _Carousel_ pointed at the rustic telephone on the wrecked side table near her bed and said… -"Why do you need a telephone…? I thought you said your father has a great mind-reading ability?"

-"First of all, you need -eye contact- for you to be able to read someone else's mind and, secondly… same mind reading ability cancels each other's skills remember?"

-"Oh yes, now I remember."

 _Rachael_ then called her father on the telephone, while _Carousel_ didn't even bother to see if _Rachael_ did made a phone call because she was so exhausted. She didn't even clean herself and didn't even eat as she prepared herself for bed. _Carousel_ then slowly lay on her bed and _Rachael_ also followed and lay beside her after calling her father… and she hugged her, as _Carousel_ was curled up like a ball on her bed.

-"Rachael, I'm so glad that you're here…" _Carousel_ whispered as she tries to wrap herself tighter from _Rachael's_ embrace.

 _Rachael_ just hugged her even tighter…

-"Rachael… can I ask you something…?" _Carousel_ softly asked

-"What is it…?"

-"Why…, did you just suddenly disappear three years ago…? I didn't hear anything from you ever since, why… did you… all of a sudden went away…?" _Carousel_ slowly and softly asked.

-"I went away… because I felt… I felt that you didn't need me anymore during those times." _Rachael_ tenderly replied

 _Carousel's_ eyes widened in surprise and, felt a bit embarrass because she knows that

 _Rachael_ was actually telling her the truth and, that she felt she didn't really need her during those times.

-"All you needed that time was… Emoreh… so I felt that I wasn't needed anymore, that's why I left." _Rachael_ concluded

 _Carousel_ slowly hid her face from _Rachael_ with her two wrapped arms covering her head and, she didn't bother to react. Because she knows it's true and, there is no point in arguing if someone like _Rachael_ can read her mind.

 _Carousel_ then quickly fell asleep and she started having that same dream of hers again.

She was walking, up on a circular staircase again, but this time when she had finally reached the top, it has a different scenario… instead of seeing a bright light, she saw a bizarre fluid like object that started to rise in front of her… and then she woke up feeling very anxious after that dream. It was already early morning.

 _Carousel_ sat from being laid on the bed, while her arms were wrapped around her two bended legs and she bend her head touching her knees and thought… -"This is the first time that my dream had a different situation at the end." She said to herself wondering…-"That thing…? Reminds me of the water like creature that rose in front of me at ' _Lake Midgar_ ' when I was just a little girl…" _Carousel_ looked very puzzled as she was rubbing her forehead… when she realized… _Rachael_ was not there with her at her bedroom anymore. _Carousel_ then quickly went downstairs to look for _Rachael_ but found her mom instead, wiping out a lot of bugs and creepy crawlers on the walls and floors.

-"Mom, killing those bugs won't stop them from coming back." _Carousel_ said, while looking around at their wrecked and tilted home, with vines and shrubs crawling on the walls and, a big tree that had grown from the entrance of their house. And from the looks of it, there is really no way of getting rid of those bugs. -"Mom, just leave them alone, we have lived like this for years and I got use to it, so just get used to it too." _Carousel_ demanded

-"Oh… just shut up!" _Carousel's_ mom cried at the top of her voice while she looked at

 _Carousel_ with a complete smug face… -"Why shouldn't I kill these pests? Their pests!

That's what they are and, they should be exterminated!"… "And you should be looking for food instead of wandering around. Now go, before I consider you as one of them!" Her mom haughtily said to her.

 _Carousel_ just rolled her eyes and, when her mom wasn't looking at her, she pulled out a bread from the table and left.

-"There's no point arguing with you." _Carousel_ murmured to herself, as she went off outside to look for _Rachael_.

A few more steps outside their shelter and _Carousel_ finally found her best friend. -"There you are…!" _Carousel_ exclaimed upon seeing _Rachael_ who was sitting at one of the blocks of the ruins.

 _Rachael_ then turned and looked at _Carousel_ feeling concerned for her friend… -"Are you alright?" _Rachael_ asked looking a little bit worried again.

 _Carousel's_ eyebrows were pulled down looking baffled… -"Of course I am…, ahhh…"

 _Carousel_ immediately said while getting _Rachael's_ point… -"Oh, that was nothing, I'm used to it. There is really no point reasoning with my mom." _Carousel_ said

-"By the way, did she see you?" _Carousel_ continued asking…

-"Yes, she saw me but she didn't even bother asking who I am and, you're right… your mom doesn't seem to care anything else besides her doings, so I just left while she was busy making those breads." _Rachael_ said to _Carousel_

-"I told you so… but when you get to live with her, you'll get used to it."

-"Do you love your mother Carousel?" _Rachael_ unexpectedly asked

-"What are you saying? Of course, I do love her…!" _Carousel_ abruptly replied, as she was surprised by _Rachael's_ sudden question. –"But, there are times that I don't, and there are times that I really want to leave her… but it's just that I don't want coming back home and seeing something really bad happening to her. Because I will be just blaming myself for that, that's why I'm really trying my best to understand her and I'm the only one in this world that she's got, so I have to look out for her."

-"Is she really your mother Carousel?" asked _Rachael_ again

 _Carousel_ thought for awhile before answering back… -"You can really read my mind… well… that's what I'm also trying to figure out all these years, because there are times that she's saying that I am her daughter and, there are times that she's saying that I'm not. My mom really has a bad memory you know."

-"Well, what do you think?"

-"I don't know… honestly it doesn't really matter to me that much, if she's my real mother or not because what's the point of knowing my beginning if I can't even remember it."

-"But let's assume that you are not her real daughter, that's why she is so harsh on you… what do you have to say about that?"

-"It's all up to her… it's her right to do anything she believes in… but for me… I would rather have a child that's not really my own that later on turns out to become a better person, rather than having a child that's really my own but had become a very terrible person." replied _Carousel_ as she shuddered

The gray clouds in the skies then started to rumble and it started to rain again and

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then quickly moved to a more protected shelter of the ruins.

-"Why is the weather here, such turmoil?" _Rachael_ asked, sounding very irritated about the weather while trying to dry herself from being drenched in the sudden pouring of the rain.

-"The weather here is always been like this, we're used to it… is the weather not like this in your place?" _Carousel_ asked comfortably, as she didn't get wet from the sudden rain pour because she was quick to take cover.

-"I don't remember!" _Rachael_ exclaimed so her voice would be heard as the rain starts to pour heavily.

-"You don't remember? How could you not remember the weather condition at your place?" _Carousel_ asked… her eyes flickered in confusion.

And then a sturdy earthquake unexpectedly occurred…

-"And now, an earthquake…?" _Rachael_ asked with a grunt, while trying to hold on to something. -"Is this the normal condition here?" _Rachael_ complained

-"Actually only slight earthquakes are common here, but a powerful one like this right now, occurs only once in a while but still it's not as if it is rarely happening." _Carousel_ loudly said while her voice was being upstaged by the rumbling sound of the earthquake and she was still trying to put a contented smile. -"That's why people here, doesn't bother fixing or renovating their shelters because of these conditions." She added

Then…suddenly just like that, the underground eruption finally subsided…

-"Finally…" _Rachael_ said feeling somewhat relieved… -"I'm so glad that-that was over… by the way, are you not going to train at ' _Stellar Academy_ ' today…?"

-"Uhm… maybe not…"

-"Why not…? Still not ready to see Emoreh yet…?" _Rachael_ was teasingly asking…

-"You can probably say that… yes, I think I'm not ready to see him today, because I'm just goanna feel sorry for myself and pity myself if I will see them."

 _Rachael_ bit her lips and anxiously said… -"You know what…? Yesterday when you introduced me to Faust, I thought he sees you as a big of a deal."

-"Really…? What do you mean by that? That's odd…! Because I thought about the same thing about you two…" _Carousel_ hastily replied and shook her head. -"But no… he doesn't…! To me that is…"

-"Are you sure?" asked _Rachael_

-"Of course I'm sure, I have also known him quite some time now, and I don't see any more than just the social gathering thing between the two of us. He's a friend of Emoreh but he's not a friend of mine; I know his name and his status at the academy but I hardly know him."

-"But I'm sure, he knows you very well." _Rachael_ teasingly said

-"Okay, I know where you're getting me at Rachael." _Carousel_ said with a warning -"I know I can't read your mind but putting Faust on the scene is not really acceptable."

 _Rachael_ then puts a sarcastic smile.

-"I'm just goanna be fine, trust me! I know that it will take some time for me to accept it, but I can always get used to it, I can always move on… and you know that!" _Carousel_ said while looking down and trying to breath as normal as possible. -"You don't need to put Faust on the scene just to make me happy…" as _Carousel_ was looking straight at _Rachael_ … -"I guess if you want to train at the academy, you should probably go now… before you get yourself late." _Carousel_ said and she was eager for _Rachael_ to leave, she doesn't want to prolong their conversation about _Emoreh_ anymore.

-"Oh yes, you're right… I should be going now." _Rachael_ abruptly said -"Are you sure you're not coming with me?"

-"Yes… I'm sure, and besides it's not really necessary for us to go there and train every day, it's not like it's a prerequisite, we can always take a time off you know."

 _Rachael_ then went on to the academy leaving _Carousel_ behind at the ' _Ruins of Midgar_ ' sitting on a ruined block while thinking something to herself.

The following day, _Carousel_ went on to train at the ' _Stellar Academy_ ' she was hastily walking, trying not to look at anybody and not to look at anything, she was just looking at the path where it leads to her training room. When she got there, she went straight ahead to their training area.

The areas of the ' _splitters_ ' who trains in the ' _IMPULSY_ ' division like _Carousel_ are designated at the rotating shafts of the building, so their bodies can react differently if they are positioned in a moving place.

As _Carousel_ took a break from training, she took a quick peek out of the window and noticed… that _Faust_ was looking at her from the other side of the shaft's window, _Carousel_ then smiled at _Faust_ … but _Faust_ just didn't react… _Carousel_ then felt a little bit offended but then realized that _Faust_ couldn't have possibly seen her smile because they were so far from each other, and that she was the only one who could see him clearly because her eyesight was sharper. And she could very well see _Faust's_ facial expression; she saw that _Faust's_ eyes narrowed in and his eyebrows were pulled down as if trying to figure her out but then for a moment he suddenly hid himself away from the window… away from the scene. _Carousel_ then felt uneasy, she twitched her lips as she moved away from that window and continued with her training.

During their training break, _Carousel_ saw _Faust_ again at the school's lobby, and he was a bit uneasy upon seeing her but still he decided to approach _Carousel_ , and he asked her…

-"Uhm… Carousel… you probably saw me looking at you during your training… I just thought for a second there that you were _Rachael_ , because you two really do look alike…, anyways… I'm here to ask if… you have seen Emoreh." _Faust_ slowly asked as he was trying to clear his throat…

 _Carousel_ was having second thoughts if she would reply or not but then decided to…

-"No, I haven't seen him yet, why? Didn't he come to train today?"

-"Not just today…! But he also didn't come yesterday, and I figured since you two were always together at all times… that you would know where his whereabouts."

-"No… I haven't seen him today, but I last saw him the other day…" _Carousel_ said feeling a little bit wary. -"But I'm sure he's just busy with something, and he'll probably come tomorrow, just don't worry about it." Said _Carousel_ but her voice sounded like she was about to worry…

-"I know… I shouldn't be…, but… but… how about you? You seemed too worried." _Faust_ unhurriedly said, he was feeling very concerned for _Carousel_.

-"No… I'm not…! But… yes… I'm a little bit worried, I guess." _Carousel_ said, feeling unsure of what she was really feeling. -"But he's just probably hanging out with Emery, you know Emery right…?"

-"Yes, I know her… but why would he… hang-out with Emery?" _Faust_ asked with his eyebrows pulled down, looking confused.

-"Well… Uhm…" When _Carousel_ was about to continue what she was about to say to

 _Faust_ , she saw Emery from afar and decided to have a talk with her. -"Uhm… could you, excuse me for a while…." Said _Carousel_ to _Faust_

-"Sure…" _Faust_ slowly said as his eyes widened and his lips were pressed in a thin line, he felt somewhat curious.

 _Carousel_ then rushed to follow _Emery_ at the outside yard of the academy's lobby.

-"Emery …! …wait up." _Carousel_ insisted.

 _Emery_ slowly turned around and looked at _Carousel_ …

-"Did you happen to see Emoreh?" _Carousel_ asked her -"Because my friend…" said _Carousel_ as she points to where _Faust_ was… -"Because my friend… Faust is looking for him." Said _Carousel_ …

 _Emery's_ eyes were sardonic… -"No…" _Emery_ replied with the softest possible voice that _Carousel_ had ever heard, and _Carousel_ can barely see _Emery's_ lips move.

 _Carousel_ wanted to ask _Emery_ if _Emoreh_ had ran away with her but she felt that this was out of the subject and obviously _Emery_ was standing in-front of her alone… so _Emoreh_ couldn't have possibly ran away with her. _Carousel_ only said… -"Uhm… okay… I… I was just asking…" _Carousel_ said feeling a little bit embarrassed.

 _Emery_ slowly looked down, turned around and walked away without any sign of concern.

-"Emery doesn't seem to worry about Emoreh… so why would… I…?" _Carousel_ murmured to herself, she then looked back and she didn't see _Faust_ anywhere so she decided to go back at the training area and found some of her fellow ' _splitters_ ' were already developing their strengths and reflexes, but _Carousel_ didn't mind because deep down inside her… she was still worrying about _Emoreh_.

Trainings ended and _Carousel_ bumped into _Faust_ once again at the school's premise.

-"You okay? You still look very worried." _Faust_ asked

-"No…" said _Carousel_ while she was trying to avoid _Faust_. -"It's just that…" _Carousel_ was thinking something to divert the subject… -"That… I'm… I'm… worried about… the water creature Dimitris told us to find and capture." It felt like it took _Carousel_ days to think of that excuse. -"Yes, that's right! I'm worried about the water creature that I have to find!" _Carousel_ exclaimed.

-"Why… you sounded really worried…?!" _Faust_ sarcastically said, with his eyebrows pulled up.

 _Carousel's_ eyes flickered in awkwardness.

-"Speaking of that water creature, I also want to capture one! They say that, those creatures are immortal, that they can go through a very unique transition in their lives. This goes that if they had already achieved their maturity state… that they can always return to become an embryo, and repeat their life cycle once again." _Faust_ said sounding very sure of his statement.

-"Have you seen one?" _Carousel_ asked

-"No, I haven't actually seen one…, but one of our trainers said, she saw one and that it has a ' _tear_ ' shaped body."

-"A tear shape body…?"

-"Yes… why?"

-"Well… because I also saw one, when I was a little girl… but the water creature that I saw during that time has a… peculiar shape, a bizarre shape… not a ' _tear'_ shape." said _Carousel_

-"Where did you see it…? Do you still remember where? _Faust_ asked, sounding very curious.

-"Yes… I saw one at _Lake Midgar_ ".

-"Really…? I would like to go there sometime and capture one."

-"Why…? Is Dimistris asking all you ' _alchemists_ ' to go find and capture a water creature too?"

-"No…, not really but because like what I've said, that creature has a transition in its life and in ' _alchemy_ ' we are studying about transitions… on how to convert or change one thing to another. So I thought that… if I could only study their behavior, maybe I can find a clue about the way they can make a transition."

-"We can go there right now, if you want… so we can find out if the water creature we both have in mind is the same." _Carousel_ quickly suggested… -"But… ' _Lake Midgar_ ' is very far from here… and I don't know about you…, but I can certainly run all the way there without dropping a sweat." _Carousel_ teasingly said and to make it look like she wasn't worried about _Emoreh_ at all.

-"Uhm… I have a ' _vessel_ ' parked over there…" _Faust_ pointed at his floating vessel… -"But… today is really not a day for me to be going anywhere, because… you know…

I'm the only one managing the only ' _telephone company_ ' in this city and there are cables that were destroyed during yesterday's sturdy earthquake, so we need to get it fixed." said

 _Faust_ …

-"Oh… I totally understand…" _Carousel_ abruptly said… -"So… uhm… just set a time then… when you have a vacant… a free time so we can go there."

-"Okay… but I… I still don't know when..." _Faust_ slightly shook his head and his face was a bit worried. -"I only have a few workers with me to work with, because it's so hard to find a worker who wants to work these days, considering that there are only a few hundreds of people left in this city, so its goanna take us some time to fix those cables… but… yeah… I will tell you when I'm available." Said _Faust_ with a smile

-"All right then… so just tell me when you're available okay… bye…" That's all

 _Carousel_ said to _Faust_ and then she immediately went straight home…

-"I'm relieved that we weren't able to go to ' _Lake Midgar_ ' today because I wasn't really in the mood to go there right now." _Carousel_ mumbled to herself.

That entire time of her talking to _Faust_ was a heave because what she has still in mind was _Emoreh_.

Chapter Three "The sudden disappearance of Emoreh"

Almost a week had passed and still no sign of _Emoreh_. _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ were sitting on the rustic floors of the academy's lobby as their fellow ' _splitters_ ' are passing by…

-"Rachael… I'm really starting to worry now." _Carousel_ said to _Rachael_ …, her eyes were looking really concerned.

-"It's been almost more than a week now and I still haven't seen nor heard anything about Emoreh, I tried calling him on the phone, but the telephone lines are still dead, and I even went to his place, to his shelter and talked to his father and his father said to me, that he also had not heard anything about his son for more than a week."

-"Is Emoreh's father actually looking for him…?" _Rachael_ asked curiously

-"Well, I guess from the looks of him, he seems not, he's not… he told me not to worry because his son is old enough to venture around and establish his own life."

-"Then I guess… there's nothing really to worry about." _Rachael_ pointed out

-"It's not his father's opinion that I'm worried about."

-"Then what are you worried about?"

 _Carousel_ tries to recall the events before saying… -"The last time I saw Emoreh, he told me that Emery had given him a chance in her heart, meaning Emery had accepted him already and she should have been expecting for him long before now." _Carousel_ was slightly agitated…

-"So…?" _Rachael_ quietly asked

-"So… why does Emery… doesn't seem to be affected by the situation…? Look at her…" As _Carousel_ pointed out to _Rachael_ as they both looked at Emery looking unworried from a distance.

-"Then why don't you go there and ask her yourself…" _Rachael_ demanded

-"But I already asked her about it… and she seems to have no idea about it. Do… do you think… that it's just okay for her, to ask her that same question again…?" _Carousel's_ words were crumbling.

-"Of course it's just okay, why wouldn't it be. Emoreh is also your friend right?" _Rachael_ asked…

-"Okay… I'm goanna try."

 _Carousel_ then went on to talk to Emery as she was feeling a little bit tense.

-"Emery… can I talk to you for a while?" _Carousel_ said as she strides Emery to a more private place along the isle.

-"Sure…" _Emery_ softly replied

-"I'm assuming that you may probably know that Emoreh is a close friend of mine… or perhaps the only friend I've got…! And he told me that you have accepted his proposal…?" _Carousel_ inquiringly asked

-"Yes I did… I accepted his proposal and I am still waiting for him up to now, but he hasn't returned yet, so I'm thinking that he just didn't want to continue persuading me anymore…." _Emery_ softly said as she slowly looked down.

-"Ah… anyways, thank you for your time Emery." _Carousel_ said as her eyes flickered…

 _Carousel_ then went back to _Rachael_ , to tell her what happened.

-"That's what she told you?" _Rachael_ asked upon hearing _Carousel's_ gathered information.

-"Yes, but I'm still wondering…, Emoreh could not have suddenly discarded his love for

Emery just like that, he could not possibly do that! Considering he was so enthusiastic and so happy to tell me that…, finally… Emery had accepted him." Said _Carousel_ with a bit of concern… -"But then again, I'm happy that Emoreh didn't… continue to persuade her." _Carousel_ thought to herself as she was looking at _Rachael_ with a grin.

 _Rachael_ read her mind and just rolled her eyes… -"And considering that Emery is so beautiful too, how could Emoreh not continue persuading such a beautiful looking girl like her…? And I love her glowing tan skin…" _Rachael_ favorably said

-"That's glowing tan skin, looks like shining bronze to me." _Carousel_ suggested…

-"I can barely see her lips move when she talks" said _Rachael_ …

-"I noticed that too."

-"And she's wearing those long garments all the time."

-"You're right…, and I can barely see her feet. Actually I haven't seen, I mean… I have never seen her feet. "

Carousel then looked at the skies above, gusty and gray as usual and their sun

' _ASTERIE_ ' can hardly shine a light on a gloomy day.

-"Oh, how I wish there is a ' _splitter_ ' in this academy to tell me where Emoreh is… so I could just stop worrying about him." _Carousel_ said feeling frustrated.

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then asked every possible ' _splitter_ ' at the academy who has a mind reading ability, but with no avail… the ' _splitters_ ' can read _Carousel's_ mind but they couldn't channel into _Emoreh's_ mind, that's why they cannot tell where his whereabouts, and ' _splitters_ ' who has a premonition or a prediction ability needs something of _Emoreh's_ personal belongings for them to see his location, and _Carousel_ has none of it.

-"Well… we have asked all the ' _splitters_ ' here in the academy, and it seems that nobody can help us right now." _Carousel_ said feeling helpless and hopeless…

-"We haven't asked the ' _Shamans_ ' yet…!" _Rachael_ exclaimed

-"No, I think there's no need for that… because ' _SHAMANS_ ' are ' _SPLITTERS_ ' too…, it's just that they are older and they are the ones training us."

-"Why don't we ask Emery for help, maybe she can help us." _Rachael_ said, feeling unsure of what she had just suggested.

-"Emery already knows that we are looking for Emoreh, so if she really wanted to help, then she should have helped us already."

-"You're right… let's not waste our time on her… and besides what kind of help would she possibly give us? She looks like a very weak ' _splitter_ '. _Rachael_ proudly said. -"Oh, but wait…" _Rachael_ eagerly said -"I think I know who could help us…"

-"Who…?"

-"My father…!"

-"But how can he help us…? I'm assuming that your father is also just a ' _splitter_ ' just like us." Said _Carousel_

But…, before _Carousel_ could even finish what she was saying…, _Rachael_ grabbed her hand and rushed her out of the academy.

-"Let's go to my father's place, at my place. But it's very far from here; therefore we need to ride a floating vessel to go there." _Rachael_ insisted

-"Sure, but… do we need money or something, to barter them with so we could ride that floating vessel you are talking about? _Carousel_ asked

-"No… we don't need any of those… just tell them that we're from ' _Stellar Academy_ ' and they will surely let us ride with them."

 _Rachael_ and _Carousel_ then went to the nearest vessel station near the academy and rode a very large ' _Floating Vessel_ ' which resembles like a ship but without the sailings and is made with super steel metals. It travels by floating on top of a steel made roads of the city that are also made with sheets of super steel metals that are laid on the ground…, covering the whole road and the large ' _Floating Vessel_ ' floats with the use of magnetic field which the steel roads are producing.

Then a dirty old male Erishan from the large floating vessel, who was a crew member distracted _Carousel's_ attention.

-"Hey lady…" The dirty old male Erishan asked, as he was tossing what seems to be a wooden locket to _Carousel's_ point of view, he was tossing it on his hand and he was sounding very provoked.

 _Rachael_ and _Carousel_ then turned around to look at the dirty old male Erishan and _Carousel_ asked back… -"Are you talking to me?"

The dirty old male Erishan snorted and boorishly said… -"Of course…! Who else would I be talking to…? If not to you…?" The dirty old male Erishan's voice was starting to sound like he was ready to brawl… -"Lady… do you have any money or… something… to give me… to pay for your ride in this vessel?" As the dirty old male Erishan slowly walks towards _Carousel_ … sounding seductive and implying a dirty look at her…

-"We're from ' _Stellar Academy_ '… we're _SPLITTERS_ " _Carousel_ said while trying to sound brawny too.

-"Ah… so you're a _splitter_ …?" The old Erishan slowly and dubiously asked… -"So… what skill do you posses? Splitting those… legs…? Perhaps…?" He slightly laughed as he slowly looked at _Carousel_ from head to foot and he sounded dissuaded as he unexpectedly throws the wooden locket in his hand directly at _Carousel's_ face…

But _Carousel_ caught the wooden locket in a flick of an eye, the incident angered _Carousel_ as she looked at the man with complete ferocity, she held the wooden locket so tight at the level of her eyes so the man could see clearly what she was about to do with his locket. _Carousel_ then slowly crushing it with her bare hands… the wooden locket turned into debris as the wind carries the dusts away… leaving just the metal band of the locket in _Carousel's_ hand. The dirty old male Erishan looked in complete awe upon seeing what _Carousel_ did. Carousel then slowly walks towards that dirty old male Erishan … -"I have many more skills to show you. You want… to see?" said _Carousel_ in a sturdy tone.

-"I… I… was just testing if you really are a splitter… and it turns out to be that you are really, actually… a true splitter…" The dirty old Erishan said, his voice was now shaking… -"Because you know… these days, a lot of Erishans are pretending to be a ' _splitter_ ' just to have a free ride… so… where… would you… want to go…?" The dirty old male Erishan slowly asked, his words were crumbling in fear.

-"Where are we heading…?" _Carousel_ quietly asked _Rachael_ beside her, while maintaining her ferocious stare at the dirty old Erishan.

-"Tell him to drop us at the _Ruin city of Harlow_ " _Rachael_ softly said

-" _Ruin city of Harlow_ " _Carousel_ piercingly said to the dirty old man, sounding very demanding.

Then… the dirty old male Erishan nodded and walked away…

 _Carousel_ gave a mocking grin at the old Erishan before he went away, then she looked back at the open view window of the ' _Floating Vessel'_ to enjoy the scenery outside.

-"That man surely knows how to test a _splitter_." _Rachael_ sarcastically said… -"You surely gave that old man a very good answer by crushing his wooden compass."

-"Oh… so that's what it was… I thought it was a wooden locket…" _Carousel_ slowly replied…, she was a little bit embarrassed because it was she who has a sharper eye sight than _Rachael_ … but then she was the one who got it wrong… and then she hid the metal band in her pocket.

 _Rachael's_ eyebrows were pulled down… -"Why would he…? Locket…? Oh never mind, at least you gave him what he truly deserves!" she added

-"You said it's going to be far… but I didn't expect it to be this far." _Carousel_ said as they were riding the large floating vessel for quite some time now.

-"Just be patient, were almost there…" said _Rachael_

Chapter Four "Heraldin"

The captain of the large ' _Floating Vessel_ ' then announced that it was the last and the farthest place the vessel could take them; 'The entrance hall' leading to the ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ ' the farthest realm… far west of ' _Midgar City_ '.

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then boarded off the vessel, they were the last passengers. And they both started walking again, through the entrance hall leading to the ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ '. They walked through long dark narrow passages, complex rocky roads and complicated streets which no one could possibly remember.

[The ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ ' is a mountainous ruined city. Where residences of the city are usually shelters that are carved from the stones, fixed on the rocky mountains of

Harlow, like cave houses that are piled up on top of each other... to withstand the turmoil conditions. A lot of the residences are abandoned and only a few Erishans were there to live and stay.]

-"Rachael… why do I feel like all the Erishans that we come across are only staring at me, not you... even though I am only following you…" _Carousel_ whispered as she was reluctant to look at the Erishans whom they were passing by.

-"Because you are only new here, and they don't know you yet… but don't worry, they won't harm you, just ignore them." _Rachael_ replied

-"Is this your everyday routine? Don't you get tired? We've been walking for so long now and even I am beginning to feel tired." _Carousel_ asked, she was feeling really exhausted.

-"Here we are…" _Rachael_ said, ignoring _Carousel's_ question

-"Oh… at last…!" _Carousel_ happily said, feeling so relieved

They arrived at almost nightfall at _Rachael's_ residence, and they both knocked on the entrance door at the same time.

A man opened the door… and the man's eyes widened upon seeing them… -"Rachael… you're finally home, I'm glad to see you… both of you." The man said, wearing a robe with an undo hood underlying on his back, revealing his face with prominent scars.

 _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed as she was confused by the man's reaction… as if it looks like it was the first time that _Rachael's_ father had seen her…

-"Father… this is Carousel…" _Rachael_ introduced

-"I know…" slowly said the man -"At last we finally meet, come in…" he said as he was staring at _Rachael_ … -"Rachael has told me so many things about you…" said he to _Carousel_.

-"Carousel…, I want you to meet my father… Heraldin." _Rachael_ said to _Carousel_

-"Hi… sir… I'm so glad to have finally met you too…!" _Carousel_ said, feeling reluctant while she shakes hands with him.

-"Please… call me by my name." _Heraldin_ insisted

-"Father…" as _Rachael_ tries to tell him about _Carousel's_ problem…, _Heraldin_ immediately knew her difficulty.

-"I see… you want to know where your friend is… I already made an eye contact with you so I know why you're here…" _Heraldin_ said to _Carousel_

-"Yes, please… _Heraldin_ …" _Carousel_ was not at ease speaking just his name. -"Could you please help me find my friend Emoreh… it's been more than a week now, and I haven't seen nor heard anything from him…, and we tried looking for help but it seems that no one can help us."

-"Yes, certainly…" _Heraldin_ said -"But you two, need to fill up your energy first… I can see that you're both exhausted… so just eat anything you want from the kitchen."

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then went to the kitchen to look for food.

-"Carousel, just grab anything you want okay? I don't feel like eating right now… so I'm just goanna go to my room and rest for a while." _Rachael_ said

-"All right…" _Carousel_ replied, as she was looking around… -"This place is so huge and so clean even though this whole shelter was just carved from the top of this small mountain." She thought to herself while grabbing something to eat and drink, but she was so keen of knowing where Emoreh is that's why she rushed back to talk to _Heraldin_.

-"Heraldin… thanks for the food, but I… I'm finished… so can I now ask for your help…?" _Carousel_ muttered but politely asked

-"Sure, take a sit." _Haraldin_ said -"I can channel through your mind and through your thoughts, but you have to guide me by concentrating your thoughts to your friend…

Emoreh…, is his name…? Am I right? So I can channel through him and we can know where he really is."

 _Carousel_ then took a sit facing _Heraldin_. -"I would really like to thank you for helping me, and to _Rachael_ for bringing me here to see you, even though she's not very fond of

Emoreh." _Carousel_ said sounding very thankful to _Heraldin_

-"Oh, is that so?" _Heraldin_ asked... he lingered for awhile and said… -"All right… I want you to close your eyes first, think of him as hard as you can… and when you're ready… then you can open your eyes, so I can see." said _Heraldin_

So _Carousel_ did what _Heraldin_ asked her to do and she took a deep breath and closed her eyes momentarily and was now ready to open her eyes… and as soon as she opened her eyes… _Heraldin_ instantly channeled into her mind like there was a power that pierced into her eyes, then into her mind.

-"Awww…" _Heraldin_ suddenly cried, holding his head with his both hands, while he broke loose from channeling into _Carousel's_ mind.

-"Why…? What's wrong?" _Carousel_ cried, seeing _Heraldin's_ mental state, she was now starting to panic a little.

 _Rachael_ heard the commotion and went directly to their place…

-"What happened…?" _Rachael_ asked, as she saw her father having a tight grip on his head… feeling an immense pain.

 _Rachael_ quickly attended to her father's distress, and tried to comfort him.

-"Father… what's wrong? Are you alright? What just happened?" _Rachael_ asked, sounding very worried while trying to help his father to get up from being bent over in pain.

-"Yes… thank you, but I think I am fine now." _Heraldin_ replied, upon recovering and he stroke his forehead with his fingers down to his face, wondering what had just happened to him. -"I just felt an immense pain for a second but I've seen your friend Emoreh… he's asleep… but I've also felt an extreme power in his surroundings, preventing me to tap into his mind." _Heraldin_ said…, his face was almost in awe while telling them what he had just experienced. -"I have never felt nor experienced that kind of power in my entire life, that power… felt like it was… a higher being… though I have never been familiar to a higher being or to a different entity before… but I'm sure that-that power didn't just came from a _splitter_." Heraldin pointed out as his voice turns shaky…

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then just looked at each other with complete awe.

-"Do you think that… that higher being is responsible for Emoreh's sudden disappearance…?" _Carousel_ worriedly asked

-"I guess… so." _Heraldin_ replied -"I mean… why…? Why wouldn't it want me to channel into Emoreh's mind, if it wasn't responsible for it? Clearly it doesn't want me to interfere with its plans."

-"You said that Emoreh was asleep…? So at least we now know that he's still alive… right…?" _Carousel_ mutedly asked, unsure of what _Heraldin_ was about to say…

-"Yes… I saw him, he's just asleep… and he's alright."

-"Did you happen to see where he is? _Carousel_ utterly asked

-"That… I didn't have the time to see, because that… that power prevented me from actually seeing where Emoreh is, but I can still try again." _Heraldin_ convincingly said

-"But father…!" _Rachael_ interrupted

-"Don't worry… I will just be alright, I was just caught off guard by that immense power, that's why I was harmed… but this time I'm prepared… and I'm ready."

-"Father… are you sure of what you're about to do again? _Rachael_ worriedly asked.

 _Heraldin_ slightly nodded and looked straight at _Rachael_ like he was reminding her of what his own capabilities are… -"Yes… I am sure." _Heraldin_ said in a deep voice as he slightly smiled at her.

-"You sure do know what you're… doing…?" _Carousel_ murmured to herself as her eyes widened in array.

 _Heraldin_ then looked into _Carousel's_ eyes again, then attempted to channel into _Emoreh's_ location… through her thoughts.

 _Heraldin_ then saw _Emoreh's_ whereabouts but paused for a while, _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ waited… their eyes narrowed in anticipation.

-"Did… did you see where Emoreh is?" _Carousel_ eagerly asked

-"Yes, I've seen where he is… but something's not right." _Heraldin's_ eyes narrowed in confusion.

-"What… what is not right?" _Rachael_ interrupted

-"All of a sudden, there was no sign of that extreme power that I was recently talking about! It has anticipated my channeling and it suddenly disappeared leaving me completely open to find out where your friend is. It didn't even try to stop me this time."

-"Well… that's good to know." _Carousel_ said -"Where is he then?" _Carousel_ quickly asked

-"At… at… the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ '…" _Heraldin_ said sounding very sure of his answer…

 _Carousel's_ eyes then flickered in astonishment upon hearing _Heraldin's_ answer.

-"That's… amazing, I was expecting like… you would say that you saw him locked in a certain room or some place and, that we still have to figure out where that place is… but…" _Carousel_ sighed –"You know exactly where it is, I'm assuming you've been in that place before…right?" _Carousel_ asked feeling so overwhelmed

-"You're absolutely right, I used to be a _shaman_ myself and preached in that shrine" Heraldin replied -"But we have to hurry and get there, and find your friend… we might be dealing with a powerful being so we need to be alert at all times."

 _Heraldin_ , _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then rode _Heraldin's_ floating vessel, a common transportation vehicle used by Erishans in planet Eris.

[The floating vessel looks like an enclosed capsule but with a leaner and tapered head because the driver of the vessel is the lone individual in front with no other seats on the other side, the seats are all located at the back row of the driver giving it a semi-triangular shape, -when you are looking down at it from the top.

It also floats on roads made with sheets of super steel metals with the use of magnetic fields and it floats using high air pressure if it is traveling through none metallic surfaces.]

They all went straight away to the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ ' and as they were on their way…

-"Heraldin… can I ask you something…?" _Carousel_ asked sheepishly, her eyes were barely looking at _Heraldin's_

-"What is it…?"

-"I have never been this far away from home in my whole life… except at the ' _Ruins of Midgar_ ' where I live and ' _Midgar City_ ' where I grew up, and I have always thought that the ' _Ruins of Midgar_ ' became a ruin because of the constant quakes that - that place is experiencing… but now… I have come to realize… that every city and everywhere I go is actually a ruin and there seems to be an occurring earthquake, and sink holes are visible everywhere." Explained _Carousel_ to _Heraldin_ , as she was looking outside the circular glass window of the vessel and that they were passing by many ruined cities along their way.

 _Heraldin_ was silenced for a while and he took a deep breath… before answering back…

-"Everywhere and every possible city in this world is a ruin because… because of the ' _Great War_ ' that took place in this world more than twenty years ago, every city, every town, everywhere is destroyed… and millions of people were annihilated and were reduced to just a few thousands… this was just a small world before… but now… it seems that this is so big for all of us to live in. This world was a very modern world, before the ' _Great War_ ' started. And look at it now…? We are still in the process of recovery and we find it very hard to recuperate because there are only a few hundreds of people left in every possible community and city… its' either they can't produce children because of the radiation they have suffered from the war or they don't want to produce any more children at all, because of the trauma that they had experienced during the ' _Great War'_." … _Heraldin_ sighed… - "Why…? Didn't your ' _SHAMANS_ ' in your academy teach you that?" asked _Heraldin_

-"No, they didn't… I mean... yes they did tell us that there was indeed a ' _Great War_ ' that had happened more than twenty years ago, but they didn't tell us that – that war, that particular war was responsible for all the ruined cities and places there is in this world... and they only taught us the basic things to survive... like, where or how to get food, how to cook food, how to raise livestock, how to treat wounds, how to build a shelter, and how to sew our own clothes… that's all, no histories included. And besides I wasn't born yet when that war happened that's why I don't have any idea… and I've always thought that it was because of the constant earthquakes and regular turmoil weather conditions this world is experiencing that's why almost all the places and cities here on planet Eris is ruined. But… except for _Midgar city_." _Carousel_ slowly asked… "Do you know why…?"

-" _'Midgar city_ ' is just a new city and was built only after the _Great War_." _Heraldin_ said as his eyes narrowed while he was reminiscing the conditions of planet Eris before the _Great War_ had happened. –"Almost all of the buildings and roads there, at ' _Midgar City_ ' are made of super steel metals to withstand the constant quakes and turmoil weather conditions, but the weather conditions now, weren't as bad as before, these bad weathers only took place after the ' _Great War_ ', but still it is not as worse as today, and these days, the weather conditions are getting worse and worse, but before the ' _Great War_ ', I could still see the stars up above those skies during the nights… but now, we can't… all we see at night are thick gray clouds and thunder storms and we could barely see our star ' _ASTERIE_ ' during the daytime and as far as I know…, your head ' _SHAMAN_ '… Dimitris…?" asked _Heraldin_ as his eyebrows were pulled up… unsure if he had the name right…

-"Yes, that's his name alright." _Carousel_ quickly replied

-"Well… he is one of the Erishans responsible for building the entire ' _Midgar City_ ' together with... Demeon..." Heraldin slowly said... -"Demeon is the owner of Stellar

Academy... and almost all of the business establishments there at ' _Midgar city_ '... he is considered as the savior of this world since the ' _Great War_ ' happened... but is he actually the one responsible for rebuilding the broken hopes of the hopeless people...? And yet he is rarely seen and I don't know if he is really rich or someone who have high connections with the other businessmen that are in charge for building the entire city too, because I actually never met nor seen him personally, the only one that I always tend to see is the head shaman of your school – Dimitris... and I don't know if he has a hidden agenda or something… I don't know. I can't read his mind because he probably has a

mind-reading ability as well... that's why I can't read his mind." As _Heraldin_ repeatedly said and slightly shook his head.

-"But at least he helped build the city too… and it's still a right thing to do." _Carousel_ concluded as she was looking slightly doubtful towards _Heraldin_.

-"I don't know…" _Heraldin_ muttered… -"I just… I just have this feeling that they shouldn't be trusted." _Heraldin_ softly said

 _Carousel_ sighed and she looked doubtful at _Heraldin_ as she slowly looked away from him... on the other hand… _Heraldin_ read _Carousel's_ thoughts before she even looked away from him and he just looked at where they were heading… he felt the uncertainty

 _Carousel_ was feeling towards him.

-"Are we there yet?" asked _Rachael_

-"We're almost there…" replied _Heraldin_

Chapter Five "The bat-like beast"

The ' _floating vessel_ ' they were riding was in an auto drive mode, and it indicated that they are nearing at ' _The Ruins of Goban Shrine_ '

-"We're almost there… Rachael… I want you and Carousel to stay together at all times, no matter what happens because we don't know how powerful that being is, who took your friend, so we should always stay alert." said _Heraldin_ , in a commanding tone.

-"Yes, father." replied _Rachael_

-"I just hope that we find Emoreh as soon as possible before that powerful being detects our presence." _Carousel_ said

-"I suppose… it already did." _Heraldin_ unhurriedly concluded as his eyes narrowed to observe their surroundings…

-"Heraldin…?" _Carousel_ asked again…

-"Yes…?"

-"You said… you used to be a shaman too?"

-"Yes… why…?"

-"So you're not a shaman now…? Why did you give up on being a shaman?"

 _Heraldin_ was silenced for a moment, slowly looked up through the dark skies as it can be seen from the glass window located at the top of the capsule-like ' _floating vessel_ ' he then slightly sighed and said… -"I… don't want to talk about it right now, it's a… long story." as his voice slowly hits to a drop.

Finally… they have reached the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ ', it is an abandoned place, no one lives there anymore and it is the largest temple in planet Eris. The pillars of the temple are barely standing but there are still a few quarters that are still in fine form. It was very dark and the flashes of lights that are coming from the lightning's strikes from the skies up above are what illuminate the entire place. It wasn't raining yet but the wind was blowing so hard and scattered dusts are affecting maximum visibility.

 _Heraldin_ then stepped out of his ' _floating vessel_ ' and said…

-"I better check on your friend by myself, it's too risky for both of you to come with me, so you two just stay here in the vessel and wait for my return." _Heraldin_ insisted

-"But Heraldin… I'm a well trained _splitter_ , I can look out for myself, and I want to help you find Emoreh too." _Carousel_ pleaded

-"I know that you are a well trained _splitter_ Carousel, but whoever or whatever… that took your friend Emoreh in this place…" As _Heraldin_ stretched his arms to present the situation that's taking place… -"Must be someone or something that even I am afraid to find out… and I can't risk having you both in danger, at least if I were to be harmed then let me be harmed alone."

-"If you are willing to be harmed because of my friend… then I am willing to be harmed as well… so let me please come with you." _Carousel_ begged

But before _Carousel_ can speak another word… _Heraldin_ quickly locked the doors of his ' _floating vessel_ ' so that _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ could not get out.

-"This vessel will automatically fly both of you back home if something bad happens to me." _Heraldin_ said as he pushed a series of buttons on the remote control which he took out from his pocket. And he went straight ahead to the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ ' leaving

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ behind locked inside his vessel.

 _Heraldin_ then walks through the dark and dusty isle of the temple, he slightly covered his face with the hood of his robe to protect his eyes from the debris that are flying in the air and also to have a better sight of his surroundings, he examines every possible place that might reveal where Emoreh is…

-"Now, where is that place that I have seen in Carousel's mind, him being inside…" _Heraldin_ thought to himself…

 _Heraldin_ was walking and checking through an undestroyed quarter when he noticed that someone or… something was spying on him, hidden behind one of the standing pillars at his side. _Heraldin_ then seized a quick glance at his side to see what it was, and then he saw a huge shadow suddenly hid itself from a robust pillar. _Heraldin_ then maintained a direct focus on that particular pillar he believes that shadow might be hiding… as he slowly walks towards that pillar to check what it was that he saw. _Heraldin_ then cleared the dusty air with his telekinetic ability to have a better view of his surroundings and, he slowly unveils the hood of his robe. When suddenly, the shadow that was hiding from that particular pillar moved from pillar to pillar with lightning speed, _Heraldin_ was sprawling in bewilderment upon seeing it.

-"What… is… that?" _Heraldin_ slowly and softly asked himself, as he tries to ready himself from an attack that might come from that shadow.

 _Heraldin_ tries to follow the movement, but it was too fast for him to take a good look, and then he suddenly hears a high pitched reverberation sound coming from his back… and he tries to face it and to have a good look at it… but before he even tries to do it, the vast shadow slammed him from pillar to pillar, taking him by surprise at his back. The pillars then collapsed and the tore downed pillars buried them both to the ground.

The commotion that had happened was so loud that it can be heard from over a very long distance… but if there were only _Erishans_ around to hear it. But _Rachael_ and _Carousel_ were the only ones there to have actually heard of it.

-"What was that?" _Carousel_ asked as her voice sounded a little bit nervous, upon hearing the commotion, she looks outside the window of the floating vessel to see what it was, but couldn't clearly see what just happened because of the poor visibility due to the dark and windy conditions, and the atmosphere was clouding with debris. _Carousel_ tries to open the door of the vessel but it was tightly locked and the door won't budge.

-"Something huge must have fallen down to create that kind of a very loud blast."

 _Rachael_ said as she also starts to look worried.

-"I think we better check it out!" _Carousel_ cried -"Maybe something bad had happened to Heraldin." As _Carousel_ tries to unlock the door again but still it won't budge, the door was tightly shut. When all of a sudden they heard a loud growl coming from the inside of the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ ', _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ looked at each other when they heard the loud growl. _Rachael_ was in awe. _Rachael_ tightly held _Carousel's_ shoulders… -"I hope my father is alright…" _Rachael_ muttered as her eyes widened in fright.

But _Carousel_ had a different reaction…, -"Let me out of here!" _Carousel_ cried as she starts to jolt the locked doors of the vessel. -"I won't let another Erishan get hurt just for the sake of my own problems." _Carousel_ furiously murmured to herself, as she keeps pushing the locked doors of the floating vessel… and finally one of the locked doors snapped open, because of her heavily budging since she was getting really mad about the situation. _Carousel_ then pushed the door and hurriedly rushed out of the vessel to look for _Heraldin_ at the shrine… _Rachael_ soon followed her…

-"Carousel, wait for me!" cried _Rachael_ seeing _Carousel_ ran so quick.

 _Carousel_ slightly turned her head back as she was running through the temple.

-"Come… we have to hurry, your father might be in peril." _Carousel_ cried

 _Rachael_ can hardly hear what _Carousel_ was saying because the air was filled with dust and _Carousel_ was already far away from her. _Carousel_ continued to go through the temple and _Rachael_ slightly covering her eyes with her hand to protect her vision as she followed _Carousel_ through the temple as fast as she could.

 _Carousel_ then reached the entrance of the temple, the pillars were barely standing and the air was already cleared because _Heraldin_ had previously let the dust settled on the ground using his telekinetic ability. _Carousel_ hurriedly searched for _Heraldin_ from quarter to quarter.

-"Heraldin… can you hear me? Where are you?" _Carousel_ cried

And then something caught _Carousel's_ attention when she heard something chinking inside a freshly made ruble. _Carousel_ slowly moved towards that ruble to check what it was. She stopped when she saw that something was emerging out of the ruble. Then she saw a big monstrous bat like creature slowly shoving the rubles off of its body. _Carousel's_ eyes widened in awe…

-"What… is that… thing?" _Carousel_ slowly mumbled to herself as she was trying to step back while still facing the monstrous creature.

[The monstrous bat like creature is very huge; it stands twice the height of _Carousel_ and it even stands slightly humpbacked because of its large built body, covered with hairs that stings when shedding, its two forelimbs are developed into huge wings with a huge claw on the second toe of its forelimb. It also has huge ears and large pitch black eyes, and its mouth is like a suction hole with a long slippery tongue, with razor sharp teeth around it and fresh blood that had already darkened is also evident in its razor sharp teeth.]

 _Carousel_ couldn't move because of the fear that she was feeling, the beast looked at her with so much intensity while it was shuddering off the rubles on its body, the beast slowly crouches as it slowly moves towards _Carousel_. The beast's hairy claw like feet leaves a heavy mark on the ground every time it walks in a crouching position because of the tight grip it makes to the ground, as its two huge claws located at its second toe of its forelimb slowly clamps the ground to hold up its massive body while crouching. The beast stared at _Carousel_ as it slowly approaches her and then… the beast slightly looked back at the ruble to check if _Heraldin_ was still buried in the ruble, it snarled as it reared back into _Carousel_. _Carousel's_ eyes were still widened in complete awe of what she was witnessing, she could hardly breathe and tries to gulp down to clear her throat.

The beast paused for awhile as someone was nearing through the corridors of the temple… and it was _Rachael_ …

-"Carousel…! Where are you…?" _Rachael_ unhurriedly asked as her voice was shaking in fear, while checking on every quarter she passes by. And then she finally sees _Carousel_ … and the beast.

-"What the…! " _Rachael_ exclaimed as her voice sounded more like a scream, upon seeing the beast. _Carousel_ then quickly grabbed _Rachael_ by the hand and they both ran away as quickly as they could. The beast was taken aback by how fast _Carousel_ reacted, but then soon followed them both when it finally realized that the two were already gone. _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ were franticly running away from the beast when they suddenly found a small cavern suitable for only one _Erishan_ to fit in, located at one of the standing walls of the temple.

-"Quick, hide in there and be quiet… don't make any sound." _Carousel_ told _Rachael_

-"But… how about you…? Where will you hide?" _Rachael_ worriedly asked

-"Don't worry about me…" _Carousel_ confidently said as she was now feeling a little bit angry. -"At least I can outrun that beast… I am faster than you are, and besides I have to look for Heraldin and Emoreh." _Carousel_ said as she led _Rachael_ into the small cavern.

 _Carousel_ then quickly runs off the scene, to avoid _Rachael_ from being detected by the beast. But she was too late… the beast was already there before she even got the chance to flee. The beast attacked _Carousel_ by surprise with its huge claw as soon as it sees her, but _Carousel_ managed to avoid the attack. _Carousel_ was also moving at the same lightning speed that the beast possesses. But all _Carousel_ could do is dodge every attack that the beast makes. _Carousel_ is not strong enough to return an attack. The scrapes and scuffs made by the beast were shrilling.

Meanwhile… out from the ruble came out a slightly wounded _Heraldin_ , his back was slightly bleeding from the ram he received from the beast. As _Heraldin_ was slowly tapping and shuddering all the debris on his body, he heard a loud commotion that the beast was making. _Heraldin_ then instantly had an idea whom that beast was attacking.

-"Rachael… Carousel…" _Heraldin_ worriedly mumbled to himself, and quickly ran off to look for them. He followed where the loud sound of the commotion was taking place…

In the meantime, _Carousel_ was busy distracting the beast, she runs from pillar to pillar evading the beast's attack, and then she saw and went into an even darker quarter of the temple thinking she could hide from the beast, but she was wrong… it made no difference to the beast because it has an echolocation and infrared sensors which it can use in dark places. All that _Carousel_ could only do was to dodge and evade the beast's heavy attacks.

-"What am I goanna do now?" _Carousel_ thought… -"I can't do anything except to avoid its attacks; if only I am stronger could I lift those fallen pillars, at least by then I could do some damage to that dreadful beast." _Carousel_ worriedly thought to herself.

Meanwhile, _Heraldin_ was quickly following the loud sound of the commotion, and he heard someone called him from behind, he turned around and saw _Rachael_ hiding in a small dark cavern.

-"Father…" _Rachael_ quietly called

-"Rachael… is that you?" _Heraldin_ curiously asked as he slowly approaches the small dark cavern…

-"Yes, it's me…" _Rachael_ whispered, still hidden in the small dark cavern

-"I'm glad that you're fine, but… where is Carousel…?" _Heraldin_ worriedly asked

-"She's being attacked by that beast…" _Rachael_ softly said as she tries to go out from the small cavern from where she was hiding.

-"No, don't go out yet… just stay there for a while, I'm goanna help her." _Heraldin_ told

 _Rachael_.

So _Heraldin_ immediately ran to where the commotion was taking place, and he saw _Carousel_ from a distance, continuously evading the beast's attacks and she looks somewhat exhausted from their fight.

-"Carousel…! Get down…!" _Heraldin_ cried, as he threw a large pillar directly to the beast, using his telekinetic ability.

The beast snarled upon receiving the large pillar's impact that smacked its body.

-"Come' on! Let's go… before it fully recovers!" _Heraldin_ said, as he grabbed _Carousel_ and quickly fled that place, they went back to where _Rachael_ was hiding and seized her out, and then they all ran as fast as they could out of the temple. But then _Carousel_ stayed a little bit behind the two because she knows she could easily outrun them both anytime, that's why she decided to be a look-out for the two. And when they got out from the temple and they were nearing the safety of _Heraldin's_ floating vessel… _Carousel_ stopped for awhile.

-"You two go ahead… I need to go back and get Emoreh." _Carousel_ insisted

-"But… that beast…!" _Rachael_ exclaimed

But before _Rachael_ and _Heraldin_ could say another word… _Carousel_ rushed back in the temple to look for _Emoreh_.

-"Rachael, I want you to go and stay inside that vessel until we return, and please… lock the doors, I'm going after her." _Heraldin_ insisted

Meanwhile, _Carousel_ was quickly scanning every possible quarter of the temple, hoping to find _Emoreh_. And finally… she spotted _Emoreh_ from a distance… he was laying, unconscious on top of a catafalque… beside one of the many destroyed sarcophaguses around the temple. _Carousel_ then rushed to where _Emoreh_ was, but suddenly that beast appeared in front of her again and it was looking very upset. The beast growled in anger, showing its big mouth at _Carousel_ that looks like a big suction hole, and around it are razor sharp teeth positioned in a circular style and a long thick tongue was sticking out of its mouth. _Carousel_ stepped back again, to prepare an evasion and she noticed that she was standing in a narrow corridor and there isn't much space for her to move.

-"If this beast decides to attack me the same way it attacked me earlier, I'm dead!" _Carousel_ thought to herself in awe… -"I have nowhere else to go, I'm in this very narrow corridor." said she, but seeing _Emoreh_ unconscious across the hall made her stronger. _Carousel_ felt like she really needed to save _Emoreh_. And as the beast tries to attack her again… a bizarre shape silhouette of light suddenly appeared at the back of _Carousel_. The beast stopped its attack, its eyes widened in fear; it started breathing heavily as it was distracted by something that had appeared behind _Carousel_ , and the beast swiftly fled in lightning speed… _Carousel_ was then puzzled about the beast's reaction and she slowly turned around to look behind her to see if anything had frightened the beast. But she saw nothing, but then she heard somebody was fast approaching… she could hear the high-speed footsteps looming…

-"Carousel…! Are you alright…?" _Heraldin_ cried

 _Carousel_ was relieved upon seeing that it was only _Heraldin_ who was fast approaching,

 _Carousel_ sighed in relief.

-"Yes…, I'm alright, I'm glad to see you… I thought for awhile that…, that beast just took a different route to attack me from behind… but is seems that we're all safe now." _Carousel_ told _Heraldin_ in complete ease.

-"Where is that beast now?" _Heraldin_ asked looking very wary

-"I think it fled away… maybe because it sensed that you were coming, and maybe it was scared to get smacked again." said _Carousel_

-"It fled…? Are you sure?" _Heraldin_ suspiciously asked

-"Well… you don't see any beast anywhere… anymore? Right…?" _Carousel_ said, while slowly turning to scan their surroundings and hoping that her speculation was right.

-"See… I told you it fled… you scared that beast, no trace of that beast anymore." _Carousel_ confidently said, and then suddenly she felt the cuts and bruises on her body.

-"Ouch…!" _Carousel_ cried, as she tries to feel her wounds and contusions. She leaned over the walls with her back to support her injured body as she was slowly losing her balance.

-"Wait…! Let me help you…" _Heraldin_ insisted as he tries to give _Carousel_ a raise

-"Why do I suddenly have these wounds…?" _Carousel_ curiously asked -"I wasn't feeling anything when I was avoiding that beast's attacks." _Carousel_ said in pain

-"It's because your abilities are about… what your body can achieve and it relies on your emotions, and you weren't feeling any signs of fear when you were tackling that beast, that's why you weren't able to notice and feel the pain and that you were being injured during your confrontation with that beast… and now that it fled, your mind is relaxed and you are now feeling the outcome of your fight." _Heraldin_ explained

 _Carousel_ sighed and asked… -"Heraldin…, do you have any idea who, or what is that creature that attacked us? Why did that beast took Emoreh here?"

-"I also… don't know…" _Heraldin_ softly answered -"All I know is that…, that creature is very powerful…" said _Heraldin_ as he paused for a while… -"By the way…, did you see your friend Emoreh here?" _Heraldin_ asked

-"Yes…, I spotted him there; he's unconscious, and he's lying just around that corner." _Carousel_ quickly replied as she was pointing to where she had spotted _Emoreh_ and she was about to go there…

-"Wait…!" _Heraldin_ quickly said to _Carousel_ -"Let me heal your wounds first before you start moving."

-"You can…, heal my wounds…?" _Carousel_ slowly asked

-"Of course I can…" _Heraldin_ convincingly said as he positioned the palms of his hand just above _Carousel's_ wounds… -"I can close your open cuts and bruises with my telekinetic powers…, but I can't completely treat your injuries inside… but at least it can relieve the pain that you are feeling now."

-"Wow, thank you, that's amazing, and I can actually feel the difference now…" _Carousel_ gladly said upon being healed by _Heraldin_ , her eyes widened in astonishment.

 _Carousel_ and _Heraldin_ then went on to get _Emoreh_ from across the corner, still very wary of their surroundings whether the beast might return and attack them again… but gladly, it did not.

-"It seems that the beast is not around here anymore." _Carousel_ said

-"I think you're right…, but we have to hurry before it decides to return again." _Heraldin_ cautiously said.

They both found _Emoreh_ lying unconscious on a catafalque, _Carousel_ stroke Emoreh's forehead upon seeing him, she was so relieved to see _Emoreh_ still alive but in a deep sleep.

 _Heraldin_ then hurriedly carried _Emoreh_ on his shoulder, who was still unconscious and unaware.

-"Let's carry him both…" _Carousel_ suggested

-"No need, I can handle this… and besides you're still wounded." _Heraldin_ said

-"Are you sure you don't want me to help you carry Emoreh? He's bigger than you… you know? And you're also wounded." _Carousel_ worriedly said as she looks at _Heraldin's_ back as it was stained with minor blood spatters.

-"Well…, he's just a little bit bigger than I am!" _Heraldin_ pointed out -"And I already healed my wounds at my back, it's just a minor injury. So don't worry about me carrying your friend…, because I'm actually using my telekinetic ability to lift him, and I'm just carrying him at my shoulder so that if anything bad happens... I won't drop him on the ground; unlike if I let him float on air... then that would be riskier to carry out." explained _Heraldin_ …

 _Carousel_ then slightly nodded -"Is Rachael alright?" _Carousel_ worriedly asked

-"Yes, I told her to get inside the vessel." _Heraldin_ said but wasn't really sure if _Rachael_ was really fine, so they mutually understood each other and began to run as fast as they could, out of the temple to check if _Rachael_ was really fine. And moments later… they saw that _Rachael_ was in fact safe inside the vessel.

-"I'm glad she's fine" _Heraldin_ said and he was relieved upon seeing _Rachael_ unharmed inside the vessel.

-"Me too…" _Carousel_ smiled upon seeing her best friend unscathed.

 _Rachael_ was inside the floating vessel looking out of the window and seems to be very wary, but as soon as she saw them, _Rachael_ appeared to be relieved.

 _Heraldin_ and _Carousel_ approached the vessel, and _Heraldin_ unlocked the doors with his device that he took out from his pocket that controls his floating vessel. He then placed _Emoreh_ at one of the vacant seats at the back of the vessel and placed his floating vessel in an auto-drive mode again and, they headed back home to the ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ '

-"So…, d… did you kill the beast?" _Rachael_ slowly asked and still feeling terrified

-"No…! It suddenly fled." _Carousel_ promptly replied -"Wait…, why do I, suddenly feel like I'm scared again? The beast has already left!" _Carousel_ hesitated being unsure of her emotions, her eyes looking very baffled.

-"Or maybe because you're close to Rachael again!" _Heraldin_ told _Carousel_ …

-"What would that have to do with what I'm feeling?" _Carousel_ was puzzled, she couldn't see the connection.

-"Look at her…" _Heraldin_ said, as he looks at _Rachael_ … -"She still looks very scared."

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then simultaneously asked… -"So…?" sounding very confused, their eyebrows were pulled down. –"What's the connection?" they both asked.

-"Well…, I just noticed that whenever you two are together, the other one seems to be getting the other one's manner depending on who feels the greater feeling. Like when you…, Carousel were so eager to find your friend Emoreh…, I observed that Rachael was eager to find him too, even though you told me that Rachael wasn't fond of him. And recently you weren't feeling scared anymore, then you suddenly felt scared when we got here." _Heraldin_ concluded

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ looked at each other looking very baffled, their lips and eyebrows were pulled down. And they don't seem to see the connection.

-"Maybe…, because we're best friends and we're so used to each other's company that's why we can feel each other's sentiments, but it doesn't mean that we're suppose to feel the same." _Carousel_ slowly pointed out, while her shoulders were pushed up.

-"Well…, I'm…, just telling what I've observed." _Heraldin_ slowly said, his tone was apparent and his eyebrows were pulled up.

-"Did you say that the beast fled? _Rachael_ interrupted

-"Yes it did" _Carousel_ quickly replied

-"Why…?" _Rachael_ asked as she was now feeling a little bit relieved

-"Because it probably sensed that Heraldin was coming that's why it fled, perhaps it already had enough beatings that it could take for the day." _Carousel_ said looking very sure about what she had just said.

-"I wouldn't be easily saying that-that is the case." _Heraldin_ clarified. -"That beast is so strong and powerful it could have killed us all, and up till now I'm still wondering why that beast suddenly fled?"

-"And why did that beast took Emoreh?" _Carousel_ strongly interrupted too

-"Let's just wait for your friend to awake." _Rachael_ said -"So we can ask him why that beast took him there in that temple." _Rachael_ was then silenced for awhile -"But… will…, he even wake up?" _Rachael_ slowly and worriedly asked.

-"Of course he will." _Heraldin_ said, and he was very positive. -"There are no marks or signs of injury on his body, he looks perfectly fine, he is still breathing and in good condition…, and he's just been put into asleep so he'll probably wake up soon." _Heraldin_ said as he examines _Emoreh's_ body that he had put on to rest on one of the vacant seats of the floating vessel.

-"Why would that beast take Emoreh away and doesn't do anything with him?" _Carousel_ asked _Heraldin_

-"And what makes you so sure that he had just been put to sleep?" _Rachael_ also asked _Heraldin_

-"Heraldin's right" _Carousel_ quickly cried -"Emoreh had just been put to sleep because I can smell Emoreh's breath and it looks like that beast had been feeding him with ' _Loco Ferns_ ' a kind of plant that could make you sleep. But what puzzles me is that…, why is he totally unhurt?" asked _Carousel_

 _Heraldin's_ eyes narrowed in… -"That's what I have been asking myself too, I tried channeling into that beast's mind…, but I couldn't…, because it keeps closing its eyes whenever I try to make eye contact with it." _Heraldin_ said -"As if it knows exactly what

I have in my mind; we will just have to wait for Emoreh to wake up so we can ask him about the incident."

-"Then…, when will he wake up? _Rachael_ again asked

-"Probably tomorrow…, a ' _loco fern_ ' can only make you sleep for a day or two." _Heraldin_ replied.

-"Then that beast must have been feeding Emoreh a couple of times." _Rachael_ pointed out

-"Probably" replied _Carousel_

The ' _floating vessel_ ' had finally reached the ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ ' and they got back to _Heraldin's_ shelter.

[The ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ ' is a ruined rocky city; it is a place with lots of rocky hills and Rocky Mountains. The ruined shelters are well blended with the surroundings, because the shelters there were carved from the hills and mountains. _Heraldin's_ residence is a one storey structure made of rocks and stones that are carved at the top of one of the hills of the city.]

 _Heraldin_ then carried _Emoreh_ to one of the guest rooms of his shelter…, he laid him there on the bed.

-"Thank you Heraldin…" _Carousel_ softly said -"Thank you for helping me find my friend." Her eyes were glowing with gratitude.

 _Heraldin_ smiled at _Carousel_ , a sign of agreeing to her acknowledgement towards him. –"I should go…, now you…, just attend to your friend's needs until he wakes, all right…?" _Heraldin_ said with seriousness while _Carousel_ smiled and nodded.

 _Heraldin_ then went out of the room and _Rachael_ soon followed him leaving _Carousel_ and _Emoreh_ alone at the guest room.

-"Father…" _Rachael_ asked as the two were walking.

-"What is it?"

-"You told us that…, a higher being took Emoreh? That beast is the higher being you were insisting? Because if that's what a higher being looks like…, then I'd rather be a lower class of a being."

 _Heraldin_ slightly laughed and slowly turned around to face _Rachael_ from the corridor that they were walking through… -"Rachael…, sometimes physical appearances can deceive you…, that beast may look monstrous to you… but it possesses great powers which you've just witnessed. But to be honest, it was not like what I have expected it to be either."

-"Neither do I…" _Rachael_ abruptly said with her eyes widened in disbelief… -"That beast still gives me chills up to now… it looks very evil!" she added

 _Heraldin_ sighed and said -"You tell Carousel to stay here for awhile; it will be very dangerous for her, especially for her friend to leave, that beast might still be looking for

Emoreh. And we don't know where or when that beast will yet attack again."

-"I know…" _Rachael_ replied and she immediately went back to the guest room where _Carousel_ and _Emoreh_ were, _Rachael_ knocked and opened the door, she found _Carousel_ sitting on the love seat placed beside the bed where _Emoreh_ was laid. _Carousel_ was curbed like a ball and she was looking at _Emoreh_ when _Rachael_ came in. _Carousel_ slightly turned her face to see _Rachael_ at the door.

-"Carousel…," _Rachael_ called in a soft voice -"I just want to tell you, that my father insists that you and Emoreh should stay here for the meantime until we are all safe from that beast."

 _Carousel_ smiled while she was staring at _Rachael_. -"Thank you…, yes I will, but I don't know about Emoreh."

-"Well…, for sure he already knows what that beast had done to him. It would be very stupid for him to be just ignoring the fact that he was taken captive."

 _Carousel_ looked back at _Emoreh's_ unconscious body and observed his situation.

 _Rachael_ leaned back at the door and her arms entwine. -"You would do anything for him, would you?" _Rachael_ softly asked as her eyes slowly looked down -"You're willing to risk everything for him…, but you're afraid to accept the fact that he might not do the same thing for you."

 _Carousel_ nodded -"You're… right, and sometimes I want to change the way I feel about him but…, I just can't…"

-"For now you can't…, but why change it? Just accept it."

-"I know…, and after all I've been through, I guess I will always have these feelings for him."

-"Yes…, don't change that."

-"Yes… I…, I… won't." _Carousel_ slowly said and slightly nodded -"I… should call my mom." As she gets up and asks _Rachael_ for the telephone.

-"Why call her? I thought you said she doesn't care whether you are home or not."

-"But I still want to call her." _Carousel_ somewhat demanded

-"All right…, come with me." said _Rachael_

 _Carousel_ followed _Rachael_ and she slowly turned around to look back and checks one more time on _Emoreh_ who was still unconsciously lying on the bed.

-"He'll be fine…, don't worry" _Rachael_ said as she leads _Carousel_ out of the room and into their kitchen where the telephone is situated.

 _Carousel_ then called her mother… -"Mom…, hi, it's me…, Carousel" _Carousel_ said as she heard her mom picked up the telephone.

-"What made you call?" _Carousel's_ mom said as her voice was at the usual mocking tone, she sounded like she was still yawning from being awaken.

-"I…, just want to tell you that…, I'm staying here at _Rachael's_ place for the meantime."

-"Why would you even call… you could stay there forever if you want, there's no difference whether you're here or not!" Her mom insensitively said

-"Well then…, uhm…, just take care okay?" _Carousel_ slowly said as she could hear a male Erishan's voice invitingly telling her mom to go back to bed. And all she could hear after that was a dead line implying that the telephone had just been hanged.

 _Carousel_ then slowly hangs up the phone too.

-"What did your mother say to you?" _Rachael_ asked

 _Carousel_ looked at _Rachael_ with her eyes partially shut…

-"Oh…, I told you so." said _Rachael_ as she slightly hugged _Carousel_ when she read her best friend's mind.

-"I…, I know" _Carousel_ slowly said too -"I just wanted to know if she was alright."

 _Heraldin_ then came, and asked _Carousel_ to follow him.

-"Carousel…" _Heraldin_ called -"I want to tell you something."

-"What is it…?"

-"Before we went to the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ ' you asked me… why did I gave up on being a shaman? Well now that we are dealing with that beast…, then I'll probably tell you what you should know about me." _Heraldin_ said as he was staring directly at

 _Carousel's_ eyes… -"Rachael, you stay here, and wait for Emoreh to wake up and if he does… just call us." _Heraldin_ insisted…

 _Carousel_ then looked at _Rachael_ with complete curiosity, and _Rachael_ just shrugged, her lips were pressed in a thin line. _Carousel_ then followed _Heraldin_ , eager to know what he would have to tell her. And he led her to a secret door that leads to the basement. And when they reached the basement…. again _Carousel_ saw another door, but this time the door was much larger and was made of super steel metal… a very hard metal, the facade of the structure was very modern but the rusts are visible, perhaps due to old times of exposure to humidity. _Heraldin_ then pushed the door and the pivoted door opened, the interior of that place were very technologically advanced compared to the shelter on the upper ground. _Heraldin_ and _Carousel_ then walked in, and _Carousel_ realizes she was standing in a very large atrium.

-"What is this place?" _Carousel_ inquiringly asked as she examines the whole area, she slowly walks around the very huge mezzanine where they were standing, overlooking a huge fountain with geometrical structures down below. -"This place is so beautiful; I can't imagine that there is a place like this, down here." She said, with a slight silly laugh as she looks high above the ceiling, a dome made of glass: the plates of the dome were hexagonal in shape and are framed with struts made of super steel metal. And only a soft glow of the cove lightings on the edges of the ceiling illuminates the entire place.

-"This place used to be so much more beautiful before the 'Great War' happened." _Heraldin_ softly replied because there were slightly visible cracks on the walls already.

-"You mean to say…, this place was already built before the 'Great War' happened?

How was this whole, beautiful place get made down here?" asked _Carousel_ in disbelief

-"This place was buried. There's a mountain beside this hill, and it got struck by mass destruction weapons made during the time of the 'Great War' and erosion buried this whole place. So we need to build a new home on top of this region."

 _Carousel_ was intrigued of what she had just heard. -"Ah…" She replied and slightly nodded.

 _Heraldin_ then led _Carousel_ to one of the many doors of the atrium. The atrium is very high with pillars made of super steel metals placed all around it. They then walked into a room which seems to be a very large library. Shelves and books were neatly placed into the room. _Carousel's_ heart was pounding as she enters the room, with an anxious look on her face.

-"Why lead me all the way here?" _Carousel_ quietly and curiously asked, as she turns around and looks up at the room. -"What do you need to tell me, that we even need to come down here… at your library? Or whatever this is…" _Carousel_ slowly asked as her eyes narrowed with unease. _Carousel_ was very curious to know what _Heraldin_ might tell her and she felt a little bit distress.

-"Actually, this is not a library… this is my research area, where I do my study and my examining the things that I want to have a better understanding with." _Heraldin_ replied with a smile. -"I can see that you are very wary of what I might say to you…, but don't worry, it all depends on how you want it to be." _Heraldin_ said as he opened a locked drawer from a desk located at the side of the room and he was trying to find something inside that drawer.

-"What… do… you… mean?" _Carousel_ slowly asked

 _Heraldin_ then grabbed a book from the desk's locked drawer and showed it to _Carousel_.

-"What… is that?" _Carousel_ asked again, looking very intrigued

-"Things… you should know about me." replied _Heraldin_

-"Is… that a… diary?"

-"Yeah…, you could say that – but I call this, my ' _book of life_ '." _Heraldin_ said as he handed the book to _Carousel_ -"Now, it's up to you…, if you want to read it or not… that is… if you could see and read the words that are written in here." _Heraldin_ teasingly said

-"What do you mean?" asked _Carousel_ again… her eyebrows were pulled down

-"Ordinary or normal Erishans cannot read this book because they could not see the writings on this book that I made… so, only Erishans with hidden talents could read this, so are you a genuine splitter? Are you prepared to see if you are a true splitter who could read this?"

-"Yes…, of course, I'm up for the challenge and I want to read it." _Carousel_ slowly replied. _Carousel_ sat on the chair of the desk, then started reading the pages of the book. Her heart was pounding again, unsure if she can actually read what was written in that book. _Carousel_ took a deep breath before fully opening her eyes to read the book, the pages seems blurry at first but then, _Carousel_ can actually see the words written in _Heraldin's_ book of life. _Carousel_ sighed in relief as _Heraldin_ left the room with a smile on his face.

-"I'm going back up to my shelter to check on your friend Emoreh." _Heraldin_ said, and _Carousel_ was left alone in the research room, reading through the pages of the book.

-"I can read through the context… I'm a true splitter." _Carousel_ mumbled to herself. -"But of course I am… why would I be worried to think that I am not a genuine splitter…" she said to herself anxiously… -"Heraldin must have read something in my mind that I am not aware of…" She thought to herself but she doesn't seem to be bothered about _Heraldin's_ ordeal. _Carousel_ then started to read through the pages again… but the contexts she was reading soon became blurry… -"What's this? Why can't I read it properly?" She was yawning when she thought to herself while reading the book. -"Oh I guess it's because I'm too sleepy."

-"I'm so tired…and so sleepy…, I can't read it properly. What does this book have to do with that beast…? And if I want to know the connection, then I must start reading this book from the very beginning…, but this book is so thick." _Carousel_ said to herself as she slowly flips through the pages…, she suddenly felt very sleepy, and lied down on one of the divans in the room and let the tiredness get into her… -"I'll probably just read this book tomorrow… right now, I just want to sleep." She said to herself…

 _Carousel_ then quickly fell asleep and started to have that same dream of hers again. She was walking up on that circular staircase again, and when she reached the peak… the bizarre fluid like object was slowly turning into a floating mirror…, _Carousel_ slowly walked towards that mirror to look at it… step by step, little by little she was getting there, she looked at the mirror, stand there in front of it but she couldn't see her reflection through that mirror.

 _Carousel_ was wondering why…? Why couldn't she see her reflection through that mirror?

Chapter Six "Demeon"

Meanwhile, the beast that they had dealt with at the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ ', was flying hastily through the dark skies, it flew through the skies of ' _Midgar city_ ' and landed on a mansion at a close distant to the ' _Stellar Academy_ ' The beast slowly transformed itself into a naked male Erishan with bruises on his body as he walks through the parapets of the manor down to the aisle of the mansion. While he was walking... he summoned his three accomplices;

-"Conscience", "Mischief"…, "Assailant…" The naked male Erishan called their names in a deep voice…

And then soon after, three very dark shadows simultaneously appeared from different parts of the mansion. The first to appear was _Conscience_ , -a beast that has a body of a naked male Erishan with hairs covering his chest down to his genitals and he has a single horn at the middle of his forehead, his eyes were as dark as his hair and his mouth resembles that of a beak of a raptor's, his hands and feet are claws like talons that could tear a body in a single strike, and it has huge dark wings on its back slowly unwrapping itself revealing it's whole image, as it spoke…

-"Yes...? Master…?" _Conscience_ asked in a very low devilish voice

 _Mischief_ and _Assailant_ shortly appeared right after _Conscience_. They too have the same features and appearance that _Conscience_ has, the only difference is that _'Mischief'_ had two horns on its forehead and _'Assailant'_ has three, _Mischief's_ body is also slenderer than _Conscience's_ but, _Assailants'_ is the most robust amongst them three.

' _Mischief'_ then asked their master too, but with a different address

-"What is it…? Demeon…?" _Mischief_ addressed his master by his name and the tone of his voice was very nasally and the sound of his voice is very irritating.

 _Demeon_ was upset and replied… -"I went to the ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ ' to suck that stupid shaman's soul out of his mouth, and when I was finished dealing with him, I decided to return home… but then when I was airborne, I unexpectedly saw a silhouette of light from below… floating on the ground, and I was astounded of it thinking that it was a soul… so I followed it…, and it vastly drifted through the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ ' and so I went after it to check what it really was, but there were _'splitters'_ who interfered.

-"Splitters" you say? ... Are you sure they were 'splitters'?" _Mischief_ quickly replied in an annoying high pitch voice.

-"Of course I'm sure…!" _Demeon_ strongly replied -"Do you think… that I don't know the difference between _'splitters'_ and ordinary Erishans? You imbecile! They had skills and abilities… especially that girl…" _Demeon_ paused for awhile and intensely thinking about his recent interaction with _Carousel_ … -"Until, I realized that she is the one who possesses that powerful soul that I was pursuing, and seeing her soul emerging out from her body even startled me… so then I decided to withdraw, because that soul is too powerful for me to consume." _Demeon_ said while walking back and forth naked.

-"Tomorrow, I will visit ' _Stellar academy_ ' and I will see to it, if we had already recruited those splitters." _Demeon_ said as his eyes narrowed in curiosity. –"And that man… he seems to be more than just a 'splitter'… he seems to be more powerful than those two ladies…" _Demeon_ thought to himself as he was thinking about _Heraldin_ … then he slightly smiled as if he had plans for _Heraldin_ …

-"But… Demeon…" _Mischief_ quickly interrupted -"You can't go out in daylight."

-"Nonsense…" _Demeon_ snarled -"I don't go out in the day time because I am a nocturnal being, … and that I feel very sleepy during the day, that is why I don't usually go out during daylight, but it doesn't mean that I can't totally go out during the day time. And besides, our ' _Asterie_ ' can barely shine a light these days…" explained _Demeon_

 _Mischief_ then slowly walks towards _Demeon_ and said… -"Demeon… then please do come, because I think I do know who you are talking about." said _Mischief_ in a nasally voice as his eyes slowly narrowed

-"Really…?" _Demeon_ sarcastically replied in a very deep voice

-"Yes… I invited her and she just recently joined the academy." _Mischief_ gave _Demeon_ a very convincing look in the eye

-"You seem to be very sure… What's her name?" _Demeon_ sarcastically asked

 _Mischief_ , _Mischief_ was then taken aback of what _Demeon_ had asked him, because he doesn't know the answer to his question. He had forgotten the name of the splitter he had recruited and he tries to come up with an excuse…

-"I tried reading her mind to know her name but I can't, but… ah… I do remember her face." _Mischief_ answered in a very annoying manner and was about to giggle.

-"There are just barely a hundreds of _'splitters'_ in the academy and you don't even know their names?" _Conscience_ interrupted with a mocking tone.

-"Why don't you go there and try to memorize their names!" _Mischief_ told _Conscience_ in a loud voice as he looks at him from head to foot.

-"You know that you are the only one amongst us who can blend in with them!" _Conscience_ replied with a growl and was about to smack _Mischief_ on the face.

-"That's enough!" _Demeon_ interrupted as the two will about to fight -"Mischief… I want you to bring me that girl you were referring to; and I will be there at ' _Stellar academy_ ' by tomorrow noon to see if she really is that girl that I want to see… and you… Conscience… I want you to round and watch the entire surroundings of ' _Midgar city_ ' and go as far through the ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ ' and look for a girl that you feel like she is a powerful ' _splitter_ ' just in case Mischief got it wrong." _Demeon_ ordered

-"Master…" _Conscience_ called… -"Mischief can read minds, why don't you just let him read yours so he could see the girl that you were referring to."

 _Mischief_ snorted and _Demeon_ snarled while looking at _Conscience_.

-"Yes…, you are quite right and Mischief can actually read my mind, but he can't read the other one's mind that I am thinking about… because you need to channel into that other one's mind if you want to see their faces… and Mischief hasn't developed that kind of a powerful mind reading ability yet…" _Demeon_ strongly insisted, his voice was frightening, but at the back of his mind… he really didn't want _Mischief_ to read his mind.

Then, ' _Assailant's_ ' strong sneer could be heard at the back…

-"Don't worry; you'll get your share of work soon." _Demeon_ said to _Assailant_ -"Now, all of you… leave me…!" _Demeon_ ordered

-"You two heard the master!" _Mischief_ said in a very nasally sound, _Conscience_ snarled ferociously and left the area and so did _Assailant_ ; they both swiftly vanished in the midst of the night. _Demeon_ then entered his mansion… got clothed and went up to his private room and was searching for something… -"I want that young girl's soul…" said _Demeon_ to himself… -"I have long been waiting for a ' _splitter_ ' to possess a powerful soul. And now, one was finally able to make it… achieve it…" _Demeon_ murmured to himself… -"And all for me… to consume… interesting…" said he with a laugh…

 _Mischief_ , on the other hand was left in the area, he then slowly shape shifted into his ' _Erishan_ ' form… and his eyes narrowed in curiosity.

Meanwhile, _Carousel_ awoke from her sleep, and decided to go back up to where _Emoreh_ was laying, to have a look if he had already awaken and when she went out from the research area, she was a little bit sluggish and tired, she thought about why her dreams were now suddenly having a continuation, a change…

-"My dream is having a continuance…?" _Carousel_ asked herself as she rubs her eyes to have a better view at the dome from up above her… she slowly looked at it. And the dim light of the day can be seen from the dome of the atrium. But that ray of light is barely visible from her point of view because the whole place, the whole atrium is buried into the ground. _Carousel_ then noticed that it was already daybreak so she immediately headed for the upper shelter…, but while she was walking, she remembered something…

-"Oh… I forgot… Heraldin gave me a book…!" said _Carousel_ to herself… -"Heraldin said, that it would make me know him better… I better get that book back." _Carousel_ thought to herself as she went back to the research area to get it back… but when she returned… the book was gone and it was nowhere to be found.

-"Where could that book be…? I remember that I was just reading it here." _Carousel_ mumbled to herself as she was looking at the divan where she had slept for the night. She looked everywhere… every possible place in that room, she didn't let any area unsearched but still, _Heraldin's_ ' _book of life_ ' was nowhere to be found.

-"Where could it be…? I should have placed it somewhere more secure before I even slept… now, what would Heraldin say to me if he finds out that I don't have his

 _book of life_ " _Carousel_ worriedly mumbled to herself. _Carousel_ was searching the entire area with lightning speed, with her lightning reflexes, she was very nervous; books and papers were all over the place because they were being checked by _Carousel_ with rapid speed. _Carousel_ then suddenly stopped searching when she heard footsteps that seem to be approaching the room…

-"What am I goanna do now…?" _Carousel_ asked herself as she turns away from the door.

Then she heard a knock on the door…

-"Come… in…" _Carousel_ slowly said trying to sound calm -"I won't look directly to whoever walks in through that door because Rachael and Heraldin can surely read my thoughts." _Carousel_ mumbled to herself as she turns her face away from the door. -"But… I hope its Rachael coming to pick me up…" she thought to herself…

And the door opened… and it was… _Heraldin_ who came in through that door.

-"What happened here…?" _Heraldin_ asked as he looks around at his researched area, he was shocked to see the whole place was in such a mess.

-"Oh… Heraldin, it's you… uhm… nothing…! I was just about to clean this place, because…" _Carousel_ slowly said as she was thinking of an excuse to say and she was looking down so _Heraldin_ won't be able to see her eyes and he won't be able to read her mind.

-"Because… what?" _Heraldin_ asked as he tries to look into _Carousel's_ eyes but she was too quick to move from corner to corner avoiding any eye contact with _Heraldin_ , as she picks up the books and every clutter she had made.

-"Because… sometimes I… I sleepwalk at night…" _Carousel_ slowly said in a bright tone, her eyes glowed in surprise upon making her own excuse… -"Yes! ... That's right… I … I may have been sleepwalking last night and when I woke up, there's these mess all around… I had probably and unconsciously done all these." _Carousel_ said as her words were breaking down.

-"And what would you be dreaming about last night that you would have to muddle the entire room? If I may ask…?"

-"Well… uhm… you see… I always have this dream that I am constantly walking up on a… some kind of a staircase, you know… which probably why I stepped onto some of your things."

-"Ah… I see…" _Heraldin_ said as his eyes wonders around the room. -"Because I thought that this is what you were looking for…?" _Heraldin_ said as he was holding his ' _Book of Life_ ' in his hands… as he showed it to _Carousel_.

 _Carousel_ slowly tries to peek from her back with caution to see what _Heraldin_ was holding. She was careful not to look into _Heraldin's_ eyes and sneaked a quick glance at what _Heraldin_ was holding.

-"Oh… that…?" _Carousel_ squealed in surprise upon seeing the ' _Book of Life_ ' and she slowly walks towards _Heraldin_ … -"Yes… I was also looking for that, I thought I had lost that book in this mess that I made." As she extends her arms to show _Heraldin_ how disorder the whole place is… -"I'm glad that you have that… that book back."

-"Yes… I picked it up and took it back when I returned in this room and saw that you were already sleeping and it seems that you have dropped this book on the ground." _Heraldin_ said and his voice was very calm.

-"Oh I'm so sorry Heraldin…" _Carousel_ begged as she was very apologetic and her eyes narrowed in discomfort… -"It's just that…"

 _Heraldin_ quickly interrupted… -"You were so tired… I know… you don't need to apologize. Last night wasn't the right time for you to read this… you were exhausted. But just to let you know… this book is my life… so I'm just goanna have to keep it for now,

I'll let you read this some other time. For now, let's go up to my upper shelter… your

Friend… Emoreh is awake and he is looking for you."

-"His awake…? Really…?"

-"Yes, so let's get going, by the way… can you tell me more about your dream last night…?"

-"Why…? Didn't you read my mind?"

-"Actually… I already did, that's why I knew that you weren't lying when you told me that you had a dream… but what I cannot see… is your dream itself."

-"But… are you capable of seeing a dream…? I mean… do you usually see someone else's dream?" asked _Carousel_

-"No… not really… I can't actually see someone else's dream but…, yes… I can tell whether a person had actually had a dream or not… when that person starts to imagine or starts to think about his or her particular dream… and then, that, I can actually read his or her mind that he or she is actually thinking about it… but still I cannot see your dream. You already told me that you were walking up on a staircase… and so on… but I still cannot see that in your thoughts." _Heraldin_ added

-"Hmm… that's odd…, because I was already imagining that place in my mind, but I'll have to tell it to you later, come 'on let's get going." _Carousel_ quickly said because she was very eager and anxious to see _Emoreh_.

-"Emoreh doesn't remember anything that had happened…" _Heraldin_ said as they were swiftly walking to the upper shelter…

-"He doesn't remember anything…? Do _loco ferns_ make you forget things? I thought that it would only make you sleep." _Carousel_ worriedly asked

-"Yes, but sometimes when you have eaten a lot… then it can cause you to have a temporary amnesia."

-"How is he now?"

-"He's fine, I gave him something to eat but he is too agitated… I told him that we brought him here; he wouldn't speak to me until he heard me mentioning your name. He told me he wanted to see you."

-"Well… I'm glad to know that he still remembers my name…, do you think he is telling the truth that he doesn't remember anything that had happened…?"

-"Yes, I read his mind… and he is telling the truth."

"That beast must have fed him a lot of _loco ferns_." _Carousel_ strongly pointed out…

Then they went up to the upper shelter and saw _Emoreh_ at the visitor's area, already out of the guest room and he was looking very tense.

-"Carousel…! There you are!" _Emoreh_ cried upon seeing her and he strides _Carousel_ to a more private area… -"Where am I…? And who is he…?" _Emoreh_ asked _Carousel_ in a soft tone, as he gave a quick curious glance at _Heraldin_ from a distance.

-"He is… Heraldin… Rachael's father…" said _Carousel_ to _Emoreh_

-"Who's Rachael…?" _Emoreh_ asked with a smacked facial expression

-"Rachael is my best friend; I already introduced her to you before… don't you remember…?"

-"What…?"

-"Oh… never mind, you probably don't remember that too…" _Carousel_ said as she rolled her eyes… -"Anyways… look, we brought you here because a monstrous beast took and captured you…, and this place is the only place that is safe for both of us, so we will just have to stay here for a while until we are safe from that beast."

-"What beast?" asked _Emoreh_ as his eyebrows were pulled down, he was looking very confused… he doesn't seem to remember anything… and then he slowly asks _Carousel_ …

-"That… that man…? Heraldin…his name?" asked _Emoreh_

-"Yes… why…?"

-"He keeps asking me about that beast too… and I told him, I don't remember any beast taking me to the ' _Ruins of Go_ … _go_ …' whatever, I don't actually know the place."

-' _Goban Shrine_ ' _Carousel_ quickly concluded

-"Yes, that's it! _Goban Shrine_ "

-"Well… What do you remember then?"

 _Emoreh_ was silenced for awhile, he tries to remember the beast that _Heraldin_ and

Carousel said that took him… but he can't remember anything about it.

-"I… I really don't remember any beast that… you two are talking about." _Emoreh_ replied

-"Then… what was the last thing you remembered then?" _Carousel_ asked

-"The last thing I can remember… was…" _Emoreh_ suddenly felt embarrassed upon trying to remembering it… "Was…" _Emoreh_ slowly said, feeling uneasy and his eyes unhurriedly looked down from looking into _Carousel's_ eyes and then, he then suddenly lost interest to continue his conversation with _Carousel_ …

-"Was… what?" _Carousel_ asked

-"…" _Emoreh_ turned away and did not answer…

-"Was… what?" _Carousel_ asked again and this time she sounded demanding, the tone of her voice was louder… -"Emoreh, if you don't want to tell me the last thing you remembered… then that's fine… because you're the one that beast wants, not me… not us, we are just trying to protect and help you… and if you don't want our help… that's your choice, just don't expect me to be there again when that monstrous beast takes you." _Carousel_ said as she sounded very upset and starts to walk away from _Emoreh_ too.

 _Emoreh_ slowly turned around to face _Carousel_ and decided to tell her the last things that he remembered.

-"Carousel… I'm embarrassed to say… but our situation right now… reminds me pretty much about the last things that I can remember." _Emoreh_ softly said… his voice was a bit shaky; he was uncomfortable and unsure of what he had just said.

 _Carousel_ was taken aback of what _Nathan_ had just said, and she saw _Heraldin_ from a distance, looking at her, his back resting on the wall and _Heraldin_ abruptly unleashed his arms from being entwined and immediately went away when he saw that _Carousel_ was looking at him. _Carousel_ then turned around to face _Emoreh_.

-"That… was the last thing you remember?" She whispered

-"Yes… you…, were walking away from me…"

 _Carousel_ then understood what _Emoreh_ was talking about… she sighed and said… -"It's not like I was really walking away from you… I was just walking straight home, that's all." Said _Carousel_ as she remembers the scene where _Emoreh_ had confessed to her his true feelings for _Emery_ … about a week ago.

-"I wanted to follow you… but something knocked me off, and I can't remember what it was, and when I woke up, I'm in this shelter." _Emoreh_ said as his eyes wonders around the huge shelter… -"And I thought… that man Heraldin was the one who knocked me off, and that is why I became vey agitated."

-"No, Heraldin was the only one who helped us find you, if not for him… Rachael and I would have nowhere else to look for help."

 _Emoreh_ nodded and felt a bit embarrassed… -"Heraldin is Rachael's father right?"

-"Yes…"

-"Oh… now, I remember her… you introduced us yesterday."

-"Yesterday…?" _Carousel_ exclaimed -"That was already more than a week ago! And if those are the last things that you… remember… then that beast must have put you to asleep for more than a week."

-"More than a week ago…?" _Emoreh_ asked, with a smacked facial expression. -"What…? How…?" _Emoreh_ asked and was starting to sound like he finds the circumstances very pathetic.

-"Yes… you were put into asleep, by feeding you with ' _loco ferns_ ' and from what you have remembered… you were put to sleep for more than a week." _Carousel_ explained with her eyebrows pulled down

-"But…"

-"That's why we need to find out what that beast is really up to… why it captured you but not do anything with you for more than a week." _Carousel_ paused and thought for awhile… -"Or maybe that beast was about to offer you to its… master or god or something." _Carousel_ said as she was just making a conclusion of her own…

-"You mean like a sacrifice?"

-"Maybe…"

-"But why would it have chosen me to be its sacrifice? What do I have to offer?" _Emoreh_ paused for awhile and he suddenly thought about his proposal to _Emery_. -"I… I need to go home." _Emoreh_ unexpectedly said to _Carousel_.

-"Why do you need to go home now…?"

-"I'm safer there."

-"No, you're safer here, and so are the rest of us… Heraldin will…"

-"I have to go home now!" _Emoreh_ quickly interrupted

-"But why…? You'll be in danger again!" _Carousel_ worriedly asked as she clenched

 _Emoreh's_ hand so tight…

-"I have to go…" _Emoreh_ said as he slowly unhanded _Carousel's_ tight grip on his hand.

-"But… but… do you know the way, the right way to go back home? ... Back to the _Ruins of Midgar_ …?"

-"Yes… I know…"

 _Emoreh_ then hurriedly left the shelter without even saying his farewell to _Heraldin_ and _Carousel_. _Carousel_ then looked at _Emoreh_ as he was wrapping himself with his jacket and walking further and further away, _Carousel_ felt so worried for _Emoreh_ … she was recalling the circumstances when suddenly… _Heraldin_ slowly held her shoulder.

-"Why does he have a feeling like he wasn't safe in this place…?" _Heraldin_ asked

-"I don't know… he must have felt really bothered when I told him that he was put into asleep by that beast for more than a week." _Carousel_ replied -"I just hope that he can look out for himself."

-"I don't think he can…" _Heraldin_ concluded

-"What makes you say that? He's an alchemist." _Carousel_ pointed out

-"I think we better follow him…" _Heraldin_ said… -"We are dealing with a powerful beast and I think your friend Emoreh is taking great risks by just going on by himself." -"What's the use of following him? There's no way he's going back here… we will just be following him forever with no avail, let's just wait for him to realize that this is the safest place for him right now. And I'm sure if he realizes what I've said, then he'll be running back here in no time." _Carousel_ said, feeling very confident as she continued having her meal…

-"What if it's too late for him to realize everything…?" _Heraldin_ softly asked

-"What do you mean?" _Carousel_ asked as she slowly turns to face _Heraldin_

-"Can you afford to lose your friend? Or is he… just your friend?" _Heraldin_ softly asked,

 _Carousel's_ eyes widened in anticipation…

-"You're right… I think I better follow him…" _Carousel_ said

-"I'm coming with you…" _Rachael_ quickly cried as she was walking towards _Carousel_ and _Heraldin_.

 _Carousel_ was surprised to see _Rachael_ from behind. -"I thought you were at someplace else… you always shows up when I surely need you, come, hurry, let's go…!" she said

-"I was at my room, and I'm about to go here when I overheard you and my father talking…" _Rachael_ explained

And then the three prepared themselves to follow _Emoreh_. They followed him with precise tracking…

-"He looks worried." _Carousel_ softly said as they hid themselves on one of the abandoned shelters and saw _Emoreh_ with his head slightly bent down looking on the ground while he was walking.

-"Yes, he does." _Heraldin_ quietly replied

-"Can you tell… what's on his mind and what he is thinking about right now…?" _Carousel_ silently asked _Heraldin_ …, while _Rachael_ was just looking at them both and observing what their next move will be….

-"No, I can't… there must be an eye contact first before I can read someone else's mind."

 _Heraldin_ whispered.

 _Emoreh_ was looking down and he thought to himself while walking in a hurry… -"I can't believe I was put into a deep sleep for more than a week now… who ever did that to me will surely experience my revenge soon. Emery must have been waiting for me so badly, I told her I'll meet her up, right after I finish telling Carousel about our mutual understandings… but I got knocked off and worse… it's more than a week now that had passed away. Will Emery still accept me? She must be really upset by now, now that I didn't show up on our agreement. I've got to hurry… I hope she is still interested in me. I have so much explaining to do"

 _Emoreh_ was walking swiftly… and to a point where he seems to be running, and then changing to a quick sprint… _Heraldin_ , _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ can barely keep up from going after him because they don't want _Emoreh_ to see them following him. The three of them participated in an exhausting hide and seek pursuit, until _Emoreh_ walks across a few _Erishans_ who seem to be gathering around, and they appear to be shocked and terrified of something on the ground… _Emoreh_ took a quick glance at it… and saw a body of an _Erishan_ that was lying on the ground. He only saw the body's waist down, because some _Erishans_ were blocking much of the view. _Emoreh_ was curious too but ignored to get closer, he had more important goals in his mind so he continued his swift walking. But _Heraldin_ , _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ had decided to drop by and take a look at the scene…

-"What are those people looking at?" _Carousel_ whispered

-"Come on' let's take a look." _Rachael_ suggested

-"But let's hurry so we can't lose track of Emoreh." _Heraldin_ quietly said

They quickly and quietly walked into the scene, and they were very wary to be seen by _Emoreh_ , they were all hoping that _Emoreh_ would not turn around and have a quick glance at the scene again, and thankfully he did not. As soon as they arrived at the scene, they too were shocked of what they saw. _Carousel_ covered her face with her hand and slightly moved nearer to _Rachael_ to seek comfort; _Rachael_ hugged her and she turned _Carousel's_ face away from the scene. A lifeless male body of an _Erishan_ is lying on the ground, his lips and teeth were ripped out from his mouth leaving his jaw wide open with only the color of pitch black can be seen from his throat. There seems to be no traces of blood on his body because it appears that his blood was drained up to the last drop because his skin was crippled and darkened like a dried prune. The dead _Erishan_ appears to be unrecognizable… _Erishans_ were whispering, asking each other, who might that dead _Erishan_ be, and what had happened to him, but _Rachael_ soon recognized the dead body.

-"I… I think I recognize him." _Rachael_ softly said

-"You do?" _Heraldin_ quietly asked so not to startle the _Erishans_ around them.

-"Yes…"

 _Carousel_ slowly turned around to look at the dead body… -"Who…?" She asked

-"He is with Dimitris that day…! The one I told you Dimitris wouldn't want to let him talk to me, they were the ones who invited me to join the academy, and he's a shaman, one of our trainers." _Rachael_ softly whispered

-"Are you sure?" _Carousel_ asked -"Because I can't recognize him."

-"He's a shaman?" _Heraldin_ curiously asked

-"I'm sure." _Rachael_ replied as she slowly looked at where they had left tracked of

 _Emoreh_.

-"Look… Emoreh is too far from us already, I can barely see him." _Emoreh_ cried

-"I have a feeling that beast we encountered yesterday, did this." _Heraldin_ thought to himself, as he had no evidence to support his suspicions, his voice was fuming with anger.

-"Father… we are going after Emoreh, you just stay here because the Erishans here…, needs you… and they need your protection from that beast!" _Rachael_ suggested

-"I know… but…"

-"Don't worry… Carousel and I are goanna be alright, I won't let anything bad happen to

Carousel"

-"You two… better be…" _Heraldin_ pointed out the tone of his voice was sturdy

-"Come on Carousel! Let's hurry before we lose track of Emoreh!"

-"Like I didn't know…" replied _Carousel_

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then hurriedly made up the lost time they had and followed back _Emoreh_ , while _Heraldin_ was left behind at the gruesome scene wondering…

-"What did that poor shaman do to deserve this?" _Heraldin_ asked himself… -"I won't let this thing happen again here in my terrain… I have heard about this kind of assault before, but never did I see this kind of merciless attack. It looks like his blood had been sucked dry from his body… pitiable shaman…" _Heraldin_ was shaken by the incident; he wants to know if his speculation was true… that the beast that they had encountered with at the ' _Ruins of Goban Shrine_ ' really had something to do with the death of his fellow shaman in the ' _Ruin city of Harlow_ '. And moments later… there were shamans from the _Stellar Academy_ that are fast approaching… _Heraldin_ hid at one of the abandoned shelters because he did not want to be seen by the shamans… but he listened carefully about their conversation.

-"The shamans are coming… thank goodness it's about time." One of the _Erishans_ who were at the murder scene said, he was also the one who called the shamans on the telephone.

-"He's unrecognizable!" one of the shamans cried as the dead body was now being examined.

-"This is a gruesome assault." One of the shamans said upon arriving at the scene.

 _Heraldin_ wanted to ask them if _Rachael_ was saying the truth… if the dead man was in fact their fellow shaman from the 'Stellar Academy' but he draws back at the last minute… he didn't want to be exposed as a shaman himself.

Meanwhile, _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ were busy following _Emoreh_ … they followed him up to the station where they will have to ride a very large 'floating vessel', _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then boarded that vessel and slightly hid themselves from one of the corners of the large floating vessel when they saw _Emoreh_ from afar. _Emoreh_ told one of the crew member of the vessel where he was heading… _Carousel_ saw the scene but wasn't able to hear their conversation because they were too far away from her. So _Carousel_ just waited for that crew member to approach them and then she could ask him where _Emoreh_ was heading. But as soon as the crew member was nearing, _Carousel_ recognized the crew member and he was in fact the same dirty old male Erishan who mocked her when she rode that same vessel yesterday.

-"Where is that Erishan heading to…?" _Carousel_ mockingly asked the dirty old male Erishan as she was pertaining to _Emoreh_.

-"I'm sorry lady… but we're not allowed…"

-"You're not allowed to what?" _Carousel_ interrupted, her manner of talking was demanding while she was staring at the dirty old male Erishan with so much intensity.

The dirty old male Erishan's eyes widened in surprised when he finally recognized _Carousel_. -"He…uhm, he said… he said…" As he tries to clear his throat -"He said, he told me to drop him at the Stellar Academy" The dirty old Erishan said, his voice was crumbling.

 _Carousel_ nodded and slightly smiled at the old Erishan to show her appreciation.

-"Drop us there too." _Carousel_ said but this time she showed some gratitude

The old Erishan looked around at _Carousel_ , wondering and rubbing his head, his eyebrows were pulled down and _Carousel_ looked at him with her eyebrows pulled up.

-"What...? What are you looking at?" _Carousel_ asked, her facial expression was a bit sarcastic.

-"Oh… nothing…!" The old Erishan quickly answered

-"Don't tell him, I asked." _Carousel_ seriously said

-"Y…yes… of course…" The dirty old male Erishan answered as he hurriedly turned away -"And yes… we will be dropping you off at the Stellar Academy too" He said, and his eyes were blinking rapidly in puzzlement as he was walking away. _Carousel_ felt uneasy but didn't mind it and she instead focused her attention back to _Emoreh_. _Carousel_ looked backed at where _Emoreh_ was… but she couldn't find _Emoreh_ there anymore.

-"Now, where could he be …? Hmmm… and why will he go straight at Stellar Academy?" _Carousel_ asked herself… -"I thought he said… he will go straight home…" she thought to herself…

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ tried going down to the lower deck of the large 'floating vessel' to look for _Emoreh_ but _Carousel_ still couldn't find him. _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ tries to walk with their every step with caution.

-"He's nowhere to be found. Where could he be?" _Carousel_ asked with frustration in her tone. -"We just saw him lately… and then all of a sudden he's gone…?"

-"Maybe, he already saw us when you were talking to that old Erishan… and he decided to hide from us." said _Rachael_

-"No, that can't be possible… he could not have seen us because even I, have a hard time seeing him because he is so far away from us, this vessel is so big, and I'm sure we were out off Emoreh's sight when I was talking to that old Erishan."

-"But where could he be now? It's so easy to spot somebody with this kind of few people around." _Rachael_ said as her shoulders were pushed up

 _Rachael's_ suggestion made _Carousel_ think…

-"Hmmm… maybe… you're right, maybe he did see us, and now he might be looking at us, from somewhere." _Carousel_ said feeling wary of their surroundings as she slowly turns around… -"And now, maybe he is just observing what we are about to do."

-"Carousel, sharpen your senses…" _Rachael_ whispered as they were looking around, slightly hiding themselves from Erishans they were coming across with.

-"I… am." _Carousel_ softly replied as the very large 'floating vessel' was preparing for a stopover.

-"Why are we stopping…? I know that we're not supposed to have a stop over until we get to the next station, which is still very far from here." said _Rachael_ looking a bit confused about the situation

Then the captain of the 'floating vessel' made an announcement…

-"We will now have a temporary break due to a minor malfunction of the vessel, this will not take long. So I hope to have your full cooperation, thank you." The captain of the vessel said on a loud speaker…

 _Carousel_ with her eyes narrowed thought for a moment and said… -"Rachael, let's go back up to the upper deck."

-"Why…?"

-"This vessel made a stop over, and maybe Emoreh will take this opportunity to go out of our sight."

-"You're right, let's go!"

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then immediately went up to the upper deck of the 'floating vessel' and as they were walking up the stairs… _Carousel_ noticed _Emoreh_ , he was standing and was talking to that dirty old male Erishan asking him what had just happened, and suddenly… _Emoreh_ was about to look at their direction because he heard slight noises of footsteps, and when _Emoreh_ was about to look… _Carousel_ manages to dodge to the wall and hide herself from _Emoreh_. But it was too late for _Rachael_ , who was right behind her,

 _Rachael_ was caught off guard; she was just standing there… completely exposing herself to _Emoreh_. She did not know what to do. _Emoreh_ looked at their direction with his eyes narrowed… _Carousel_ then immediately threw the metal band from her pocket through the air and it hit the barrels that were on the other corner of the vessel. And it made a clinking sound. _Emoreh_ then was interrupted and he looked at where the clink came from and _Carousel_ immediately pulled _Rachael_ out of the scene.

-"Did he see you?" _Carousel_ softly asked _Rachael_

-"I don't know…, he's a little bit far away from us." _Rachael_ answered

 _Emoreh_ then went on to where the barrels of beer were, and saw the metal band, he picked it up and the old Erishan whom he was talking to approached him.

-"What's that…?" The dirty old male Erishan asked upon seeing _Emoreh_ holding up what he had just picked up.

-"I… don't know… I guess this is just an ordinary necklace." _Emoreh_ said as he showed it to the old dirty male Erishan. -"I thought I heard footsteps on the stairs, and suddenly I heard a clink on these barrels so I went to see what it was and then I saw this." _Emoreh_ unleashed the metal band from being entwined in his palm and showed it to the old male Erishan. -"Someone must have dropped it in here…" said _Emoreh_

-"This necklace looks familiar." The dirty old male Erishan said as he was trying to take a good look at it…

-"I think… this is not a necklace! Yes! This is not a necklace!" The dirty old male Erishan cried

-"This is my wooden compass' band!" And he tries to take it away from _Emoreh_.

-"Well…if it's yours… then take it!" _Emoreh_ said as he handed the metallic band to the dirty old Erishan. The dirty old male Erishan then looked at _Emoreh_ with a little bit of concern, and starts to think why his metallic band was there.

-"When are we leaving…?" _Emoreh_ reluctantly asked the old Erishan as he was looking from left to right… he was wary that _Emoreh_ was following him… -"Who was that girl that you were talking to a moment ago…? Asked _Emoreh_

-"We'll be leaving soon." The old male Erishan quickly replied, ignoring _Emoreh's_ question as he placed his metallic band into his pocket… -"There has just been a minor problem at the engine, and it is now being fixed." He said… only answering _Emoreh's_ previous question.

Meanwhile, _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ were at the corner listening to their conversation and then they decided to go downstairs at the lower deck to have a conversation of their own…

-"Let's just stay here for awhile until this vessel drops Emoreh to Stellar Academy."

 _Carousel_ suggested… -"And I guess Emoreh didn't see us after all…" she added

-"I agree, and I 'm sure that old Erishan must be very curios by now to see why his metallic band was there." _Rachael_ buoyantly said as _Carousel_ slightly grinned

Chapter Seven "A turn of events"

The large 'floating vessel' finally sailed, and when it reached the station near the Stellar Academy, _Emoreh_ took off. _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ immediately followed him with caution. And when they all got to the 'Stellar Academy' _Emoreh_ was very eager to find somebody he much wanted to see, he was rushing from corner to corner, room to room.

-"I can hardly keep up with him." _Rachael_ complained -"Why is Emoreh in such a rush?"

-"I don't know either; now let's get going before we lose sight of him again."

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ barely kept a close gap between them and _Emoreh_ until they came to a turn and lost sight of him again.

-"Where could he be now…?" _Rachael_ asked looking very confused

-"See… if it wasn't for your constant complaining we couldn't have lost him." _Carousel_ said and she was upset, but she was still very wary of their surroundings as she moves from wall to wall.

-"But he was just right there and now… all of a sudden he's gone." _Rachael_ replied with frustrations in her tone. As she points out her hand in front of her while _Carousel_ was looking at where she was pointing at… when unexpectedly someone from their opposite direction laid a hand on each of their shoulder's and softly asked… -"Who…? Who was there…?" a voice asked from behind…

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ was stunned! They were caught off guard and couldn't speak.

They slowly turned their heads to look at each other's eyes and they slowly looked at their back to see who it was, and it was… _Faust_ who tapped at their shoulders…

-"Oh, it's only you!" _Carousel_ asked in surprise, as she lets go of a deep sighed, _Rachael_ also exhaled with so much relief…

-"Who were you two spying at?" _Faust_ intriguingly asked

-"We're not spying on anybody." _Rachael_ was quick to reply

Until _Carousel_ heard _Emoreh's_ voice from a distance, and he seems to be talking to somebody… and that they were fast approaching, so _Carousel_ immediately ducked into one of the low consoles that serves as a partition of the school's lobby.

-"Get down…" She whispered to _Rachael_ and _Faust_

 _Rachael_ then grabbed _Faust_ down.

-"Why the sudden bustle…? Oh, now I see… you two are not spying on someone, but you two are actually hiding from someone…?" _Faust_ whispered as he tries to squeeze himself into one of the low partitions.

-"Shh… just be quiet…" _Carousel_ softly said

-"Wait… I think I recognize that voice…" _Faust_ said upon hearing the approaching resonance of voice… -"Is that Emoreh …? but… why are you two hiding from…"

-"Yes… I know…" _Carousel_ immediately interrupted, while she shuts _Faust's_ lips from talking… her fingers pinched his lips -"I'll explain it to you later." She said to _Faust_

 _Faust's_ eyebrows were pulled down in suspicion.

The three of them who were hiding inside the console tables… alertly listening to the conversation that is taking place between _Emoreh_ and… the one he was talking to…

-"I told you I don't know what happened to me, if you want… you could ask _Carousel_ , so she can tell you that I am telling the truth." _Emoreh_ explained to the one he was talking to…

-"So… you were with Carousel?" _Emery_ intriguingly asked… she was the one who

 _Emoreh_ was talking to…

 _Carousel_ heard their conversation and she immediately looked at _Rachael_ as if asking her if she could just stand up and defend _Emoreh_ , _Rachael_ read _Carousel's_ mind and she gave her a stare that demanded her to stay put, _Carousel_ understood the stare _Rachael_ gave her so she decided to just remain still. Even though she was a little bit surprised to know that it was actually _Emery_ whom _Emoreh_ was talking to, and whom he was so eager to see.

-"Yes… I was with her when…" _Emoreh_ slowly said trying to remember the things that had happened to him…

-"When… when what?" _Emery_ softly asked

-"When I lost consciousness… and she… was also there when I recovered… but… but that's just about it… that's all I can remember…" _Emoreh_ explained

 _Emery's_ left eyebrow raised a little bit.

-"I know it sounds crazy but it's true…" said _Emoreh_ upon seeing that _Emery_ wasn't convinced by his explanation, _Emery_ slowly held _Emoreh's_ cheek and asked… -"You said… there was this beast that held you captive?"

-"Yes, that's what Carousel told me…"

-"Then… why would a monstrous beast held you captive? What would it want from you?"

-"I don't know! Believe me; please just believe me, I'm not making any excuses Emery, I never wanted you to wait for me this long… it's just that… like what I have told you… there are things that had happened to me, and I don't know why it happened, why me? I don't understand either. And it's scaring me." _Emoreh's_ voice was shaking -"I never thought those kinds of creatures even existed in this world."

 _Emery_ then held _Emoreh's_ face with both her palms and softly said… -"Don't worry!

We'll run away from here. We'll go to a place… a place somewhere safe." As she slowly brings her forehead closer to Emoreh's … chin.

 _Emoreh's_ face glowed in delight. -"Are you sure you want to run away with me?"

-"Of course… why wouldn't I? That's our plan remember?"

 _Emoreh_ was so glad to hear what _Emery_ had said to him, that he hugged her so tight. _Emery_ then smiled at him and she looked down at the consoles where _Carousel_ and the rest of the company were hiding.

-"Is something wrong?" _Emoreh_ asked, as he too, looked down at the low console tables, where _Emery_ was looking at.

-"Oh, no… nothing…" _Emery_ shrugged as she replied. Then _Emery_ put up a sarcastic smile as she strides _Emoreh_ away.

 _Carousel_ , _Rachael_ and _Faust_ peeped little by little when they heard _Emoreh_ and _Emery_ had finally left the area.

-"Are they gone?" _Rachael_ quietly asked while she stretched her neck to see if they really had left.

-"Yes… I can't feel their presence anymore…" _Carousel_ replied with a gloomy look.

 _Faust_ noticed _Carousel's_ sudden change of face. -"What was that all about?" asked _Faust_

"Why is Emoreh with… with… Emery…?" He slowly asked as he looked confused -"I thought you two had something special going on"

-"Who me?" asked _Carousel_ -"Oh no, no, no!" She abruptly defended herself -"There was never a special commitment between me and Emoreh … we were nothing more than just… friends, that's all… plain and simple." She said as she was trying to convince herself that she was telling him the truth… _Rachael_ , on the other hand just rolled her eyes…

 _Faust_ 's eyes slowly narrowed, he doesn't seem to be convinced regarding _Carousel's_ explanation, so _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then finally decided to tell _Faust_ everything that had happened to them.

Meanwhile, since it was already past noon. _Demeon_ had just arrived at the academy and _Dimitris_ was there to accompany him. Every 'splitter' they had come across with, looked at _Demeon_ with curiosity. And _Demeon_ could hear them whispering… (Is he the one who had put up this academy? – Yes, [says one of the 'splitters'] – he's such a good and generous Erishan to put up an academy that is free for everybody, - as long as they have the skills. [says the other] as _Demeon_ grinned.

Since, this was the only time that most of the 'splitters' had seen _Demeon_.

-"Now, lead me to that young lady that you were talking about." said _Demeon_ to _Dimitris_

-"Right this way…" _Dimitris_ said -"She must be training at the upper ground area…"

-"What kind of training is she having?" asked _Demeon_

-"She is being trained at the "PSYCHETENCY" division…" _Dimitris_ replied

-"Psychetency…?" _Demeon_ asked as he paused to a stop -"She's training at the

Psychetency division…?"

-"Yes…" _Dimitris_ slowly replied -"Why…? You seemed reluctant…" _Dimitris_ asked and his voice was very nasally.

-"A, splitter training at the field of 'psychetency' does not fit the kind of skills that young lady possesses which I have encountered with." _Demeon_ said

-"What makes you so sure?"

 _Demeon_ gasped and he slowly looked at _Dimitris_ with a very fierce look in his eyes, they were like burning charcoal and he said… -"Don't you think I don't know the difference?" his voice was intimidating…

 _Dimitris_ then gave _Demeon_ a very cold stare and he turned his face away from him so he could roll his eyes without being caught. And they quickly went up stairs to look. They saw some 'splitters' training but didn't saw the one that they were looking for…

-"Did any of you happen to see a young lady… this tall?" _Dimitris_ slowly asked the 'splitters' around as he was calculating the height of that 'splitter' in his mind; he was elevating his hand up and down from his chin down to his shoulder.

-"Sir, are you pertaining to every young lady in this academy?" One of the splitters asked

-"Do I look like I'm having a time to gag around?" _Dimitris_ said, his voice was nasally and annoying.

-"What's her name then? So we could help you find her…"

-"If I knew her name… would I still be describing her to you? ... Of course not! I don't remember her name; all I know is that… she is way cleaner than each and every one of

you, she's the only one… well, except for the two of us of course (as _Dimitri_ s looked at himself and at _Demeon_ and then he looked back at them and continued talking) she's the only one who wears clothes that are not torn and dirty, unlike most of you." _Dimitris_ ' face looked disgusted… -"And a lot of you seems to be still wearing those torn, dirty, old clothes that your dead parent's had left behind before the Great War. While she… that girl, somehow manages to wear; clean freshly sewn attires…" _Dimitris_ looked at each and every one of the 'splitters' and continued insulting them… -"You all shouldn't be wearing those clothes." he said with disgust on his face.

-"Well, it's none of your business, and besides we like wearing these…" One of the 'splitters' said to _Dimitris_ as he looked at his own attire… -"What's wrong with our attires? We like the layering… and this is the way…, some of us, wants to remember our parents by wearing their clothes which they left behind."

-"Wearing those ugly clothes to remember your dead parents who fought during the Great War and died more than twenty years ago, will not make their legacy any better. We shouldn't dwell on the past, especially if it has no use." _Dimitris_ sighed and continued talking

-"Now… if only you could all tell me where I could find the girl who is beautiful, well groomed, and well polished, and… I'm assuming that you all know who I am talking about because all of you are just not like her." _Dimitris_ pointed out…

-"Now… now Dimitris… That's not how we speak to our trainees." _Demeon_ interfered

-"I think I know who you are looking for." One of the 'splitters' quickly said -"But I don't exactly know her name too, because she doesn't talk much, and she doesn't seem to be anywhere around, if you want to look for her…" said he, as his eyes narrowed while thinking if he got it right… -"But I saw her at the lobby earlier…" the splitter said, and before he even asks them why they were looking for her. _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_ were nowhere to be found, they were not there anymore, and they were very quick to flee.

-"Hey, where did they go?" the splitter asked, looking very confused

-"They are probably… by now begging that girl, begging her if she could somehow make them garments just like what she has." One of the splitter said with a snort

-"You're probably right! Ha ha ha…" the splitters laughed

In the meantime, _Faust_ couldn't believe what _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ had just told him, his eyes flicker in bafflement as _Rachael_ asked _Carousel_ if she still wants them to keep following _Emoreh_.

-"No, let's just leave them…" _Carousel_ replied, but the tone of her voice sounded very worried. -"They said that they are going to find a safer place for them to stay, so let's just hope that they do find one." _Carousel_ concluded

 _Faust_ could see the sadness on _Carousel's_ face even though she tries so hard to conceal it from them, but then _Faust_ wanted to make _Carousel_ feel better so he decided to convince her to join him to go to 'Lake Midgar'.

-"Carousel, would you like to come with me? I'm going to Lake Midgar right now, I'm going to look for that water creature." _Faust_ suggested… -"I know how eager you are to find out what that water creature looks like."

-"Thanks, Faust… but as much as I'd like to… I can't right now." _Carousel_ explained, her eyes appeared to glow for a second but then it quickly perished.

-"Go with him…" _Rachael_ whispered to _Carousel_

-"I can't…"

-"Why…? I can see that you really wanted to go with him and capture a water creature."

-"But it's too dangerous…"

 _Rachael_ slowly looked at _Carousel_ -"Oh…, so you're worried about that beast? But you might be forgetting that, Faust… is the best alchemist there is, in this academy." _Rachael_ reminded her… -"He can destroy that beast, and besides, that beast is not interested in you… that beast is interested in Emoreh only. So why worry?"

-"You're right, that beast isn't concern with me, but… what if that beast suddenly decides to find and attack me again, because we never know what might happen, then I will be putting Faust's life in danger, and should we inform the 'shamans' that there is a beast lurking in there, in the Ruins of Goban Shrine?"

-"Nah… we don't need to, Emoreh and Emery might have reported that already." _Rachael_ said as she whacks the air with her hand.

 _Carousel_ then glanced at _Faust_ from a distance, he was also looking at her and he asked… her… -"Well…? Are you coming…?" asked _Faust_ with civility but his eyes seems to be begging her to come.

 _Carousel_ looked back at _Rachael_ -"Goban Shrine is pretty far from here right?" She asked…

-"Yes, it is very far from here…" _Rachael_ replied with assurance as she held _Carousel's_ arms… -"Don't worry, that beast must be merely lurking at the 'Goban Shrine' and not anywhere else here." She said

-"But I prefer to go if you would come with us." _Carousel_ pleaded

-"No…! That will ruin the moment…" said _Rachael_ as she quickly corrected herself –"I mean… I… I will just be ruining your means of capturing that water creature; you know how clumsy I can get sometimes…" _Rachael_ quickly incited with a laugh.

 _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed in curiosity… -"Rachael, are you seeing things again about my future that you're not telling me again?"

-"No…!" _Rachael_ quickly replied -"It's just that I want you… to brighten up a bit."

-"Brighten up…? Why…? Do I look…" as _Carousel_ slowly shakes her head…

-"Bothered…? Well that's because I'm still worried about that beast that assaulted us yesterday." explained _Carousel_ …

-"Carousel…, we both know that it's not about that beast that you are totally worried about, and I know, that you know what I mean…"

-"I know what you mean?" _Carousel_ slowly asked in an annoyed manner -"What are you saying that I know what you mean…? No! I don't know… what you mean!" _Carousel_ loudly said as she looked at _Rachael_ from head to foot.

"Oh, come' on… we both know that you're still worried about him. Why are you always in denial…?" asked _Rachael_ as the tone of her voice sounded very frustrated.

 _Carousel_ slightly turned her head as her eyes narrowed while deeply looking at _Rachael_.

 _Rachael_ then rolled her eyes… -"Just go! You are making Faust wait too long." said she

-"But, how about you…? Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" _Carousel_ asked as her lips twitched

-"Yes, I'm sure! Because I still have to check on my father, he's probably doing his own investigation by now. About who, the culprit really is, of that shaman's gruesome death and, I need to help him. Now just go!" said _Rachael_ , _Carousel_ looked hesitant as _Rachael_ strode her towards _Faust_ …

-"Well, I'm guessing that you finally want to go?" _Faust_ said while he was looking at

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ … -"Rachael… if you want, you can come help us too, so we can all take the credit for capturing a water creature." _Faust_ said with a smile, his arms were entwined, giving him a robust figure that signifies that he can keep them safe. -"The whole academy will be thrilled, and I would love to see the look on Dimitris' face if we could get to show him one." He added

-"No, I'd rather not…, I'm bad at capturing anything." _Rachael_ replied -"My reflexes are not as quick as Carousel's; she's the one who could make capturing looks so easy. And blowing up our cover is just goanna be the thing that I'll be doing."

-"Isn't there any way that I can convince you to come?" asked _Carousel_ to _Rachael_

-"I'm afraid there isn't! And it's already getting dark, so… if you both want to capture a water creature… then you two better get going now." _Rachael_ said to _Carousel_ and _Faust_

 _Rachael_ then gave _Carousel_ and _Faust_ a friendly push at their back.

-"Faust…" called _Rachael_ -"Bring her home safely okay!"

-"I will…" _Faust_ replied with a slight blush on his face.

In the meantime, _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_ were fast approaching the school's lobby and _Dimitris_ notices the girl whom he assumed _Demeon_ was referring to.

-"Oh…! There she is…" _Dimitris_ cried in excitement.

 _Demeon_ looked to see if she was the girl that he was looking for…

-"Hi…! There!" _Dimitris_ cried, while approaching the girl. -"I'm sorry, but… I didn't get to know your name when we last met, I'm sorry for not remembering." _Dimitris_ said, while _Demeon_ closely follows him from behind.

-"Well… I'm… I'm Rachael!" She replied -"Is there anything I can do for you sir…?" _Rachael_ asked

-"Uhm…" _Dimitris_ replied as he looked at _Demeon_ , and he was drumming his fingers.

-"No…! She's not the one…" _Demeon_ whispered to _Dimitris_ …

 _Rachael's_ eyebrows were pulled down in curiosity as she tries to listen to their conversation…

-"She's not?" _Dimitris_ asked in disappointment and he begins to fear for his mistake…

-"But I… I promise… I will find that girl you are looking for…" _Dimitris_ fearfully said and his words were crumbling.

-"Yes, she is not the one I am looking for, but that girl was… also there…" _Demeon_ said in a very deep voice… -"We could use her to find that girl that I am really looking for." said _Demeon_ to _Dimitris_ in a quiet tone as he gave a very intense look at _Rachael_ …

-"Really…? She was there too?" _Dimitris_ asked with a snort, he was now relieved for a while.

 _Demeon_ then brushed _Dimitris_ aside; he started to approach _Rachael_ … and he asked her…

-"My child, do you happen to have a friend here? A girl perhaps…?"

-"Yes…" _Rachael_ slowly replied while she was very wary of the situation.

-"Can I ask then… where could your friend might be right now?" _Demeon_ asked as his breath was coming out of his nose as he speaks and it could be heard intensely. _Rachael's_ eyes narrowed, she didn't know what to say.

-"Oh, I'm sorry; I haven't properly introduced myself yet! I'm Demeon… owner of this school." _Demeon_ said as he reaches for _Rachael's_ hand to offer her a handshake, _Rachael_ then reluctantly shook his hand.

-"I'm… I'm Rachael, It's nice to finally meet you sir…" _Rachael_ said as she was now very enthusiastic to meet him.

 _Demeon_ smiled but _Dimitris'_ eyes widened and his eyebrows were pulled up.

-"Oh…! They just left…" _Rachael_ quickly replied upon seeing _Dimitris'_ insinuation…

-"She… and Faust went to capture a water creature at Lake Midgar. Why? Is there any problem?" _Rachael_ slowly asked, as she looked bothered

-"No…! Absolutely nothing my dear…" _Demeon_ heavily sighed as he thought…

-"Lake… Midgar…?" He softly mumbled to himself…

-"What…what…? Sir, are you asking me something?" asked _Rachael_ as she heard

 _Demeon_ talking to himself…

-"I… I said…" _Demeon_ tries to think of an excuse to caveat… -"I am just worried for you…!"

-"Worried for me…?"

-"Yes, because… friends shouldn't be left behind… alone… in this place… right…?"

-"No, no sir…! They didn't leave me behind; I told them to go because I have more important things to do."

 _Demeon's_ eyes narrowed… -"Hmmm… well then, if that's the case then you better get going yourself; just tell your friend that I was looking for her."

-"I will sir!"

-"By the way, what's your friend's name?"

-"Carousel…!" _Rachael_ cried

-"C…a…r…o…u…s…e…l" _Demeon_ slowly said… -"A very interesting name…" _Demeon_ murmured to himself as he paused for a while… then asked… -"Rachael, could you… and your friend Carousel drop by at my mansion tomorrow afternoon or better yet at night, I have some very important things to tell you two. That is, if you don't have anything else important to do, tomorrow night?"

-"Well sir, may I ask what is it that you are planning to tell us?"

-"I'm actually planning for all the 'splitters' to have a competition."

-"A competition…?"

-"Yes, you see…" As _Demeon_ held _Rachael's_ shoulders… -"This competition would not only show to the whole academy but to the whole world, to planet Eris, what we had already achieved, we had produced so many talented 'splitters' that are helping to rebuild this damaged planet that we live in."

-"And exactly what kind of competition are you planning to put up?"

-"Now, now Rachael that's why you and your friend should come tomorrow night, because that's what we are going to talk about."

 _Rachael's_ eyes rapidly blinked in confusion… -"But… but why us?" She slowly asked

-"Because Dimitris told me, that you two are the best trained 'splitters' around, and it's only right that I should request both of you to help me plan this competition."

 _Dimitris_ quickly interrupted… -"Did I actually tell you that? Because I don't remember…" _Demeon_ then thumped him with his elbow before he even finished his talking.

-"Just be quiet, let me deal with this!" _Demeon_ frantically murmured to _Dimitris_

-"So… will I be expecting the two of you tomorrow evening?" _Demeon_ asked _Rachael_ in such an appealing manner.

-"But I don't know where you live sir." _Rachael_ said

-"Dimitris will provide the necessary information." Replied _Demeon_

 _Rachael_ then slightly nodded.

-"Well then… I'll see you tomorrow night, and don't forget to bring your friend Carousel with you." _Demeon_ said, the tone of his voice was deep but it hit a higher note at the end.

-"Don't worry, I will!" _Rachael_ cried

-"I'll be going now…" _Demeon_ said as he walks away with _Dimitris_. -"Just like you… I am quite busy myself… anyways; it's been a pleasure meeting you." Said _Demeon_ as his tone was very low…

-"It's been a pleasure meeting you too!" _Rachael_ returned the compliment.

-"Keep an eye on that girl…" _Demeon_ softly whispered to _Dimitris_ as they were walking away… -"I will try to see if Carousel had already left the premise." Said _Demeon_ ,

 _Dimitris_ then followed _Rachael_ as she heads home. On the other hand, _Demeon_ immediately went outside the academy to look for _Carousel_ … but he was too late, they had already left the building.

Chapter Eight "Conscience"

Meanwhile, _Carousel_ and _Faust_ were heading at 'Lake Midgar' using _Faust's_ floating vessel.

-"Just tell me the way to Lake Midgar?" asked _Faust_ while he was driving his vessel.

 _Carousel_ looked somewhat confused. -"You were so eager to ask me to go with you at Lake Midgar, so I thought you've figured out how to get there." Said _Carousel_

-"…" _Faust_ did not know what to reply.

 _Carousel_ slightly sighed -"Okay… we go east… that's where Lake Midgar is, just outside the east of Midgar city." Replied _Carousel_ who was seated at the back side of _Faust_ inside the vessel, then she started to look around to observe the view, she was very wary of their surroundings…

-"Heraldin also has a vessel like this." _Carousel_ said as she looked around the interior of _Faust's_ floating vessel.

-"Who's Heraldin?" _Faust_ asked

-"Rachael's father…"

-"Ah…" _Faust_ reacted, but defended his vessel… -"But you see, this is no ordinary vessel, unlike the common floating vessels you see around, the exterior of this vessel is solar powered so it doesn't need to refuel, this vessel can also turn into different kinds of shapes, some kind of a convertible if I may say, and this floating vessel could go off speeds you can only imagine… my father invented and made this vessel specially just for me." He said while having a quick peek at the rear view reflector mirror located on top of his steering wheel to look at _Carousel_ from behind.

-"Really…? Your father made this thing for you…?"

-"Aha…" as _Faust_ slightly nodded

-"Wow, how I wish I could meet your father, and ask him to make me a gadget that would also enhance my speed."

 _Faust_ did not react to _Carousel's_ suggestion, his lips were tightly pressed, his eyes were just focus at where they were heading… and suddenly there was silence for awhile…

-"Did… I say… something wrong?" _Carousel_ slowly asked -"I wouldn't be asking anything for free you know. I'm goanna pay for something that I've asked for."

 _Faust_ sighed heavily… -"It's not about that… silly… it's about my father…"

-"What about your father…?"

-"He… his gone…"

-"Oh… I'm sorry."

-"It's alright; it's already been so long ago when he passed away, sometimes I just get so emotional when I get to remember him." _Faust_ distressingly said -"Especially when it reminds me of inventing and making devices."

 _Faust_ was looking straight ahead when he noticed that it was _Carousel_ who was not speaking this time and she seems to be deeply thinking of something.

-"Why…? What's the matter? Is your father also…" _Faust_ sensitively asked, as he glanced at _Carousel_ from his rear view mirror.

-"No… he's not! I mean… I don't know…" _Carousel_ slowly replied as she slightly shook her head -"I grew up not knowing if I ever did have a father, my mother never even mentioned about my father, she gets angry every time I raised questions about it, so I just didn't ask her about it anymore."

-"Why wouldn't she tell you about your father…? It's your right to know."

-"I don't know, she sometimes tells me she doesn't remember who my Father was, and at times she tells me that its better if I just don't ask about it, my mother has a very bad mood and it makes me want to leave her sometimes."

-"No…, don't… leave her, you're lucky, you still have a mother to go home to…"

 _Carousel_ slowly looked at _Faust_ -"Don't tell me you lost your mother too?" She asked sympathetically.

-"Unfortunately… yes, she died while giving birth to me, that is what my father told me, so basically I don't have any memories about my mother. It was my father who raised me all by himself… until he was killed."

-"Your father was killed?"

-"Yes… he was murdered."

-"By…, who…?"

-"I don't know, up to now, we still don't know who killed my father… all I remember is that… they didn't want me to look at my father's dead body because they said it was way too gruesome for me to see."

-"…" _Carousel_ was just speechless and couldn't look at him straight in the eyes. Her eyes were just full of sympathy.

-"I was just a little boy when I lost both my parents, I'm their only child, and I learned to struggle to live at a very young age, before… all I have with me is this vessel my father left me with and I call this vessel… my 'Rookie'…"

-"Where did you go…? ... What did you do? … When you were all alone..?"

-"I just stayed here… Rookie served as my home, my protector, and sometimes I would ask some of my father's friends for food and clothing, and at times they would give me something to eat and wear, but a lot of times they would say; they have nothing more to give me even though I could clearly see that they have plenty more to give. So I have no choice but to work and to look for food and clothing on my own. Those were the things that I kept doing all the time. I understood at a very young age that you should learn to appreciate everything that is given to you, because you just don't know when it will be the last time that someone will give you something. That's why I learned that anything and no one is without value, you can always learn from something or from someone, and even though things are becoming repetitive at times… it's our choice to like it or not."

 _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed in disbelief… -"I thought those were Emoreh's words." She thought to herself. -"But I guess Faust is more believable because he had experienced those things in his life while Emoreh grew up to have almost everything that he needed."

-"And because of those things that I have experienced in my life, I also learned not to depend on anybody… I didn't need anybody… except for Rookie." _Faust_ proudly said. –"And it's also very fortunate for us 'splitters' that Demeon had put up a free academy for us to learn and train." He added

-"You're right..." replied _Carousel_ as her tone was somehow trying to uplift his spirit

In the meantime, _Dimitris_ came rushing back at _Demeon_ at the parking area of 'Stellar Academy'.

-"Demeon…!" _Dimitris_ cried

-"What is it?"

-"I tried following Rachael like you told me so… but…"

-"But what…?"

-"I lost track of her."

-"What…!"

-"I tried sneaking behind her back to see where she was going, and I'm sure that she didn't notice that I was following her… when all of a sudden, when she turned left at one of the corners down the station… she suddenly disappeared."

-"Are you sure?"

-"I'm definitely sure, I checked all the corners of the station and I couldn't find her anywhere." _Dimitris_ said, as his nasally voice hits a higher note.

-"Hmmm… that's odd… you said she was training at the 'Psychetency' division?"

-"Yes"

-"How come she suddenly disappeared…?" _Demeon_ asked as he was deeply staring at _Dimitris_. -"There are only two answers to my question." _Demeon_ pointed out in a very deep voice… -"It's either she is developing a new skill in which her body can move quicker than normal, just like the 'splitters' that are training in the 'Impulsy' division or… you are just too stupid to carry out a given task."

-"I swear, she was just a few steps away from me… she just turned around the corner… and then she was gone." _Dimitris_ explained

 _Demeon_ sighed and went into his own 'floating vessel' which was also parked outside the 'Stellar Academy's' premise, _Dimitris_ soon followed him.

-"Did you catch up with Carousel and Faust?" asked _Dimitris_ in return

-"No, I was too late, some of the splitters said; they had already left when I got there."

-"So…you're just going to wait for her to come to your mansion tomorrow night?"

-"Nor, could I wait for tomorrow, I must have her as soon as possible, I must know what kind of a 'splitter' she is turning into? So I could consume her soul, her soul… not only can it make me an immortal, but it could make me the most powerful being in this world." _Demeon's_ eyes narrowed as he speaks -"And the whole 'competition' thing… I just made that up, so if I fail to get Carousel tonight, I'm sure I'll have the chance to get her tomorrow night." _Demeon_ said with a grunt

-"Do you want me to bring Carousel to you? Rachael said they were going to Lake Midgar correct?" said _Dimitris_ to _Demeon_

 _Demeon_ gave _Dimitris_ a very sarcastic look… -"I already have someone else in mind who could accomplish such duties."

 _Dimitris_ slowly looked down and rolled his eyes in disappointment.

In the meantime, _Carousel_ and _Faust_ were almost there at 'Lake Midgar' [Lake Midgar is a huge stone made, ruined stadium submerged in water, and is surrounded by trees and bushes, a forest-like place, located near east of Midgar City. The Great War, the constant earthquakes, tornados and calamities are believed to be responsible for its current structure.]

-"Has anybody told you that you look exactly like your friend Rachael, but only with a pigtail…" said _Faust_

-"Really…? No, I guess nobody thinks so… I know we have the same dark hair and light eyes but I never had in mind that I may look like her, she is way too beautiful for me to be compared to."

-"Why say that? Don't you think you're beautiful?" _Faust_ frankly said -"Because… I… do!" He slowly said without malice…

 _Carousel_ blushed upon hearing those words from _Faust_ but she tried to conceal it and pretended that she didn't hear anything. -"Oh we're almost there!" She cried as soon as she saw the place… -"Just turn right and we're there." She said

-"So, is this where you saw that water creature when you were young?" _Faust_ asked as he stopped and got out from his floating vessel."

 _Carousel_ looked around to view the surroundings -"Yes…" She slowly said, while she was reminiscing the encounter she had with that bizarre shaped water creature when she was just a little girl.

 _Faust_ took a container out from his vessel. -"This is where we would temporarily put the water creature that we will capture." He said

-"If…?"… "That water creature is still here! I was just a little girl when I last saw it." _Carousel_ strongly replied, feeling unsure if there is still a water creature in that lake.

-"Of course, it would still be here. How could that water creature possibly get out from here?" _Faust_ asked as they both looked at the lake with no other streams of river for it to flow out. -"And they say that those creatures are so hard to capture because of its extreme agility, and there's not even a shaman in our academy that had ever even captured one."

-"But… that was so long ago, and we don't even know if we even have the same water creature in mind." Replied _Carousel_

-"That's why we're here to find out." _Faust_ said as he took off his bonnet and large goggles (He wears goggles to protect his eyes from the very windy conditions at Midgar, because dirt and debris are being carried by the strong winds.) Then he took off all the layering clothes in his body, starting with his black and slightly dirty trench coat, vest and shirt while he descended at the shallow waters of the lake and started to look for that elusive water creature.

-"Do you see anything yet…?" _Carousel_ cried

-"No…! I don't see anything yet!" _Faust_ quickly replied -"Carousel… may I ask…how? And why were you here when you saw that water creature?"

 _Carousel_ paused for a while and was trying to remember the exact situation. -"I was with my mother, and I remember she was busy buying something from the market which used to be located there… I think…" said _Carousel_ as she pointed out at the trees near the lake. -"That used to be a market." She said -"And I was just drawn into this lake, like any other child I guess."

-"And that's when you saw the water creature?"

-"No… not yet, I was walking through the shallow edges of this lake when I…" _Carousel_ was silent for a moment, as she tries to remember the situation again; she was nibbling at her index finger.

-"When…? ... What…?" _Faust_ slowly asked

 _Carousel_ approached the corner side edges of the lake and said… -"I remember I was there when I saw that water creature." She said

 _Faust_ then went to the place where _Carousel_ told him where she was, when she saw the water creature… -"You were here? When you saw that water creature…?" _Faust_ asked sheepishly

-"Yes, that's exactly where I was." _Carousel_ replied

 _Faust_ was looking around it, when he involuntarily stepped forward and all of a sudden he fell down to a very deep part of the lake and sank…

-"Faust…!" _Carousel_ cried, but only bubbles that are surfacing the water is what _Carousel_ is seeing, so she decided to take a swim and tried to save _Faust_. But when she was about to take a swim… _Faust_ immediately resurfaces and he was catching his breath.

-"Are you alright?" _Carousel_ asked

-"Yes, I'm alright, don't worry!" _Faust_ said as he wipes his face with his hand… -"Whoa…! That was deep!" He said -"I didn't notice that there was a deep hole in this part of the lake… but I think I saw something down there… and I think I just found what we are looking for…"

 _Carousel's_ eyes widened in delight while _Faust_ went back at his vessel and he turned on Rookie's headlights and pointed them towards the lake.

-"It's getting dark, we need to light this place up!" he said -"Carousel… I want you to help me spread this net across the shore, while I lure that creature into this trap."

 _Carousel_ agreed, and she helped _Faust_ to put up the trap. _Carousel_ waited along the shallow edges of the lake making sure that the net was in proper place, while _Faust_ searched for the water creature he just saw.

-"I've searched almost everywhere, but I couldn't find it anymore." _Faust_ said as he was getting frustrated about looking for that water creature…

-"What does it look like again?" _Carousel_ loudly asked, her voice was echoing through the forest.

-"Actually I haven't really seen it clearly, but one of my trainers said that; it has a 'tear' shaped body and its color is almost transparent, so its goanna be very hard for us to actually notice that creature here, but I swear I saw one that looks like that… in that deep slope of the lake." He pointed to the place where _Carousel_ has told him where she was, when she was just a little girl and saw a water creature slowly rising in front of her there…

 _Carousel_ then tried sharpening her senses, her eyes narrowed as she scans the lake, her eyesight was much better than _Faust's_. And finally when she couldn't see it anymore and she looked back at _Faust_ , she noticed something… something wasn't right about the color of the water, something was much darker.

-"Wait, don't move… I think I saw it." _Carousel_ softly whispered

-"Where…?" _Faust_ softly asked as he was slowly looking around

-"Beside you…" _Carousel_ quietly said -"To your left… is that it?"

-"Yes" _Faust_ said as his eyes widened in delight upon seeing it.

 _Faust_ did not waste any time and he quickly jumped towards it and grabbed it with his two hands, he manages to capture it for awhile but then released it back because he was hurt.

-"Ouch…!" _Faust_ cried as he looked at his chest, it was bruised by the water creature's pointed tail; _Carousel_ looked worried and told _Faust_ to come out off the water.

-"Faust…! Come back here, you're hurt." _Carousel_ cried upon seeing blood that is flowing through his chest.

-"No, this is just a minor bruise, now I know why that water creature has a 'tear' shaped body." _Faust_ said with a slight laugh -"Its tail is very dangerous… Carousel… could you hand me my vest." Asked _Faust_

-"But…"

-"Don't worry, I'm just goanna be fine, this is nothing… see!" _Faust_ convincingly said to _Carousel_ as he washes his chest with water. -"This wound isn't so deep." Said he

 _Carousel_ was unwillingly taking the vest that was lying on the ground with his shirt on top of it, but then she had no choice but to return back to the shore and give the vest back to _Faust_.

-"Are you sure you're just goanna be alright? Because it's not worth it if anything bad happens to you." _Carousel_ worriedly said as she was looking at his bruised chest.

-"Believe me, that thing cannot harm me anymore." said _Faust_ as he puts on his vest

-"But… but how about your arms and hands…? They're not protected." _Carousel_ asked,

 _Faust_ just smiled at her then returned back to find and try to capture that water creature again, he seemed very determined. Then… a few more moments… he finally spotted the water creature.

-"I got you now!" _Faust_ mumbled to himself

He grabbed it once more, and again it slipped away, _Faust_ could only see the water creature slowly swimming away as if it was teasing him, when all of a sudden, a net was thrown into the air heading for the water creature's direction. The water creature got stuck and it was caught. And it was _Carousel_ who swiftly threw the net.

-"…" _Faust_ was speechless

-"Go! Quickly grab it!" _Carousel_ cried

 _Faust_ immediately held onto the net, and he slowly raised it -"Wow, I can't believe we actually captured one, this creature is so beautiful." _Faust_ said upon seeing the water creature. –"This is like a water bubble, with rainbow colors shining when you look at its edges." Said he

-"Carousel, you did it." said _Faust_

-"No…! We… did it!" _Carousel_ returned the compliment; -"It was you who did all the hard work; now… let's bring that water creature to the container before it gets stressed out." Said she

"Right…!"

As _Faust_ and _Carousel_ were placing the water creature into the container, _Carousel_ heard a movement behind the bushes, not so far away from them.

-"Did you hear that? Because I think I heard something…" _Carousel_ asked as she looked somewhat anxious.

 _Faust_ paused for awhile and started listening at their surroundings… -"No, I don't hear anything." He said as he did not hear anything…

-"I thought I heard something from those bushes." Said _Carousel_

 _Faust_ then took a glance at where _Carousel_ was looking at, as his eyes narrowed. When all of a sudden, something unexpectedly came out from those bushes and it was heading in their direction, and it was moving towards them very quickly. It appears to be a monstrous looking beast, that is about to strike them with its razor sharp claws, _Carousel_ managed to avoid the beast's attack because she moves a lot faster but _Faust_ did not, his right arm was slightly ripped from the beast's strike. His right arm was bruised but instead of reveling his flesh and bones from his torn skin, it revealed a somewhat metallic looking thing with cut wires sparking and springing out of his arm. _Carousel_ was puzzled when she saw _Faust's_ arm. The water creature inside the container then got the beast's attention; the beast snarled and looked at the water creature with interest…

-"Is that, the beast that attacked you?" _Faust_ quietly asked _Carousel_ as they were both pinned to a corner of the lake…

-"No…! That's definitely a…. different beast!" _Carousel_ slowly said as she was in awe… -"I didn't expect that there are so many of them." She added

-"Get inside the vessel!" _Faust_ quickly cried to _Carousel_ as the beast was still preoccupied by the water creature inside the container.

And _Carousel_ then immediately ran and went inside the vessel, _Faust_ then pressed a button at his left arm band to automatically lock the vessel, putting 'Rookie' in a 'Guard mode', _Carousel_ was now inside the vessel but then… she started to pound the locked doors of the vessel when she was inside, because she noticed that _Faust_ did not follow her into the vessel.

-"Faust…! What are you doing?" _Carousel_ cried, where sheets of metal were slowly coming out at 'Rookie's' base, slowly enclosing itself like a metal sphere.

-"I just can't afford to leave it behind." _Faust_ cried, pertaining to the water creature; that they had just captured. _Faust_ can barely hear what _Carousel_ was saying inside the vessel especially now that the entire vessel was now almost covered with metal sheets. _Carousel_ then kept pounding at the locked doors of the vessel but with no avail, 'Rookie' was way a lot well-built than _Heraldin's_ floating vessel or to any other ordinary floating vessels in the 'City of Midgar' in particular. _Carousel_ couldn't see anything because the whole vessel was now covered with metal sheets, she tried looking for a switch to light up the interior of the vessel and she had no idea what was going on between the beast and _Faust_. _Carousel's_ distress couldn't be heard outside the vessel because it was wrapped tightly with metal sheets, making it look like a spherical canister.

 _Faust_ then gave the beast a quick punch to its head, leaving it growling in pain, _Faust_ took that opportunity to quickly cover the container with its lid. And as the beast recovers, it then attacked _Faust_ with multiple strikes sending him on a defense style; _Faust_ used his cyborg arms as a shield to block the beast's boundless slashing.

-"Who are you…? What… are you?" _Faust_ slowly asked in complete perplexity as he was still being attacked by that beast.

The beast named ' _Conscience_ ' did not bother to answer back; it just groaned heavily and continued attacking him.

-"Not yet tired?" _Faust_ asked mockingly, because his arms were almost undamaged, despite the never-ending attacks he received from that beast.

The beast snarled upon seeing _Faust's_ arms that were almost undamaged, but the beast's boundless slashing revealed the true nature of his arms. The skins on both his arms were roughly torn away. Exposing both his artificial mechanical arms that are made of super steel.

-"Now, my turn…" said _Faust_ as he threw some punches and kicks to the beast. This time, it was the beast that is now in a defensive manner, it instantly encloses its wings to protect itself. _Faust_ then used his alchemy skill to turn his left hand into a machine gun, and his right hand into a long sharp blade. And then he fired straight at the beast, the beast named ' _Conscience_ ' tried to avoid the shots that _Faust_ had made, but there were too many shots made by _Faust_ for the beast to escape. The beast ended up being wounded and one of its wings was noticeably damaged, made and gashed by the sharp blade on _Faust's_ right arm. The beast was packed on the ground trying to regain its strength.

-"Do you know how much trauma you've just caused me?" _Faust_ asked the beast, his voice sounded very angry. -"There's a girl inside that vessel that I really love and that I would be very devastated if I fail to protect, because you know why? …Because I kept convincing her to come with me into this lake even though she really didn't want to!" _Faust_ was catching up his breath… -"Not knowing that I would just be putting her life in a great… great danger because of you!" _Faust_ said to the beast as he tries to finish the beast with a powerful blow.

-"Hmmm…" The beast spoke as it suddenly recovers; _Faust_ was then taken aback…

-"I sense… conscience in your heart." The beast ' _Conscience_ ' slowly said with a smile, its pitch black eyes suddenly turned into crimson red in color and its wounds were suddenly healing.

-"My master wants her…" said _Conscience_

 _Faust_ couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. -"What does your master want from her?" said _Faust_ as he then used his left arm again to transform it into a machine gun and started firing straight at _Conscience_ again as it prepares to move towards him, but his shots were just easily evaded by _Conscience_ …

-"How did that beast, suddenly became so invincible…?" _Faust_ asked himself as _Conscience_ was still smiling at him, its dark beak-like lips where darkened even more by the blood of its previous victims, and so as its razor sharp teeth. _Faust_ could only look at the beast with total disbelief.

-"What am I goanna to do now?" He asked himself… -"That beast seems unbeatable." As _Faust_ tries to step back, and _Conscience_ was fast approaching him. _Faust_ took a quick glance at his vessel, making sure that 'Rookie' and _Carousel_ were still alright.

Inside the vessel was a baffled _Carousel_ … she overheard everything _Faust_ and _Conscience_ had said about her, because she has sharp senses.

-"All this years, Faust was hiding his true feelings for me?" _Carousel_ mumbled to herself feeling very confused. She was very worried for _Faust_ but at the same time she felt uncomfortable, she felt very sorry for him.

 _Carousel_ was constantly listening to their clash… until she became aware that _Faust_ wasn't saying anything anymore. It was because _Conscience_ was revealing its true power to _Faust_ ; the cloud in the dark skies unexpectedly clustered together and everywhere was murky and indescribable, all _Faust_ could see was the thick dark fog that wraps the whole place and out of the dark mist came out a very pitiless _Conscience_ with a lifeless _Carousel_ hanging on its shoulder. _Faust_ couldn't speak upon seeing _Carousel's_ condition because he was now, under the control of _Conscience's_ power; where in _Faust's_ own points of view, his conscience was slowly creeping in; _Conscience_ made him believe that _Carousel_ was clinging in its shoulder dead, and _Faust_ could only blame himself for the outcome. As _Conscience_ carried _Carousel's_ lifeless body on its arms as it approaches _Faust_. The whole bizarre incident left _Faust_ speechless and stunned in his own thoughts.

In the meantime, inside the vessel … _Carousel_ was very determined to get out; she was worried that she wasn't hearing anything from _Faust_ ; all she could hear was the heavy grunt of the beast.

-"What is going on out there…?" _Carousel_ cried as she started pounding the vessel again.

-"Faust…!" She cried, but she couldn't hear any reply from _Faust_.

-"Faust…! Faust…! Faust…!" She kept yelling and pounding.

But _Faust_ was in the midst of blaming himself… -"How could I let this happen to _Carouse.l_ " _Faust_ asked himself… -"Why did I let this happen to her…?" He repeatedly told himself as _Conscience_ was now in front of him carrying the lifeless body of _Carousel_ , making him see what he had failed to do, whereas in reality… _Conscience_ was carrying nothing.

Until _Faust_ overheard someone calling his name…, "Faust…!"… The voice said in a vague sound, -"Wait… that's Carousel's voice, who's calling me…" _Faust_ mumbled to himself as he now looked somewhat bewildered… -"But… how can she call my name? If I am looking at her lips right now, and it doesn't seem to be moving." He asked himself, as he realized that it was all a trick… -"Wait…. How did you get Carousel out off my vessel in the first place?" _Faust_ asked _Conscience_. -"No one can break-in through my 'Rookie's' defense…. Not even you!" _Faust_ pointed out to the beast while he now prepares to attack the beast again. And the whole atmosphere returned back to its usual state.

The beast snarled at _Faust_ upon knowing that the latter had found out about its trick. _Faust_ then seized the opportunity to quickly get the container with the water creature in it; and then he fired as many shots at _Conscience_ for it to withdraw but it only made _Conscience_ to step back a little bit, so he fired at some trees to fall onto _Conscience_. _Faust_ made use of that little opportunity to open up his vessel by pushing a series of combination buttons at his metallic band located at his left wrist. _Faust_ with his captured water creature hastily went inside his vessel as it was now starting to close in again; 'Rookie' was fully closed just in time before _Conscience_ had the chance to attack them again. Both _Faust_ and _Carousel_ could hear the scratches made by _Conscience_ from the inside; but as the vessel fully closes, they could now barely feel the frustrations of the beast from the outside of the vessel.

-"Don't worry…, even with those sharp claws it has, that beast could not possibly rip this open." _Faust_ said with confidence as he was squeezing himself between the vessel and the spherical metal sheets that acts as the vessel's shield.

-"How about you…? I'm glad to see that you're fine… but are you alright?" _Carousel_ worriedly asked

-"Yeah I'm fine." _Faust_ replied -"It just took me awhile to get this back." said _Faust_ as he lifts the container with the water creature in it so _Carousel_ could see. Then he unlocked the doors of the vessel… -"Whoo…" _Faust_ exhaled from being squeezed while he gets inside the vessel. -"Carousel, could you hold this for me." _Faust_ asked as he gives the container to _Carousel_

-"Sure…" _Carousel_ replied

They were now both feeling a little bit secured because they knew that they were at 'Rookie's' protection even though they could still hear the heavy scraping made by the beast outside.

-"Sit tight…" _Faust_ informed… -"We're going on a blast" He said as he was pressing a series of buttons on the control panel of his vessel.

-"What do you mean…? Blast…?" _Carousel_ cried

-"Just brace yourself…" _Faust_ advised

 _Faust_ made the final adjustments and the whole vessel lit up in a bright light and it suddenly disappeared leaving the beast _Conscience_ at 'Lake Midgar to wonder. The beast _Conscience_ was confused about the sudden disappearance of the vessel and it snarled loudly in frustration, its growl echoed through the forest…

'Rookie' was then teleported to _Faust's_ shelter; and the metal sheets that served as the vessel's shields were currently slowly returning to the base of the vessel.

-"Where are we?" _Carousel_ asked as she gets out of the vessel still holding the container in her arms. _Carousel_ was trying to contain the fear she was feeling. –"What does that beast want from me?" She asked herself

-"We are at my shelter." Replied _Faust_

 _Carousel_ looked around to observe that she was in a small buried city… -"Is it safe down here?" she asked

-"Of course…! I mean... at least that beast won't find us in here."

-"Why is the whole city buried in here… in this large cave like place…?" she said while still looking around in astonishment.

-"Because there was a massive sinkhole that occurred during the 'Great War', and this city came down with it…" Replied _Faust_

They were both teleported at the entrance porch of _Faust's_ shelter, and an underground water fall is seen opposite the entrance. A somewhat long narrow path leads to the entrance of _Faust's_ shelter.

Chapter Nine "Rookie"

-"Come, let's get inside." _Faust_ said as he led _Carousel_ towards the narrow path leading to the entrance doors of his shelter. -"You should be careful not to lose your balance; it's a little bit steep getting at the top." He said

 _Carousel_ then looked down at the edges of the narrow path and heard the flowing of waters below it, the path they were taking was surrounded by water. _Carousel_ held a tight grip at the container she was holding, she was very careful not to drop the container.

-"Let me help you with that." _Faust_ insisted

 _Carousel_ then gave the container back to _Faust_.

-"I'm glad we made it here." said _Faust_ … -"I couldn't have escaped that beast if it wasn't for you." He said

-"What did I do?" replied _Carousel_ with an awkward look on her face.

-"Just when I fell prey to that beast's tactic, I heard your voice… you were calling my name. And that's when I knew that everything around me wasn't real; that it was… all just an illusion…" said _Faust_ , while trying to recall the things that had happened. -"That's probably its power." He concluded

-"Well… I'm glad that I did some help." _Carousel_ replied as they were walking…

-"That's not just some help… what you did, was a very big help." As _Faust_ gave _Carousel_ a friendly tap on her back… -"You must have been screaming my name pretty out loud, for me to actually hear it from the outside." _Faust_ teasingly said as his lips were pressed in a thin line, His eyes were filled with pleasure.

-"Oh, believe me… I was just whispering your name." _Carousel_ replied as she felt slightly annoyed.

-"Oh, could you help me hold this thing for a while." _Faust_ said… -"Because these doors need both my palm prints for it to open." He said as they were now standing at the entrance door of _Faust's_ underground shelter.

"Sure…" She replied, as she took back the container from _Faust_ …

 _Faust_ , then placed both his palms on each of the two door entrance, and the doors slowly opened, they were retractable doors, sliding through the sides of the wall. And they immediately went inside, and the doors automatically closed.

 _Carousel_ and _Faust_ were conversing at _Faust's_ shelter, it is an underground haven, and every area of that sanctuary was very technologically designed.

-"Really…? You were just whispering my name?" He asked sarcastically -"Oh, let me help you with that." He abruptly said as he took back the container from _Carousel_ and he placed the water creature to a much larger container. -"What you mean to say… is that you were really worried about me?"

-"Whatever…!" _Carousel_ softly said as she rolled her eyes… -"Of course I'm worried about you, who knows, what that beast might have done to you… but instead, you're giving a whole different meaning about my concern for you."

-"Hey, hang on… is there something I'm not getting here?" _Faust_ asked in a confuse manner, his eyebrows were pulled down.

-"No, nothing… I was just asking…," _Carousel_ explained -"Uhm… where exactly are we?" _Carousel_ quickly asked -"And what did you actually do to your vessel? Why are we suddenly here? I didn't feel Rookie moved." She abruptly asked, shaking her head trying to divert the topic.

-"Inside my shelter…" _Faust_ replied… -"We're at my shelter, this area is my bedroom, my kitchen, my working place, and etc. all rolled into one, in short… this is my sanctuary." _Faust_ gladly introduced -"Sorry… it's just a little clustered and messy in here because you can see, this is like my multi-purpose area." _Faust_ apologetically said his face was slightly embarrassed. And he tries to pick up some things to lessen the mess.

-"It's alright… I'm not dainty." _Carousel_ replied

-"Rookie teleported us here…" said _Faust_ as he was still trying to clean up the clutter.

-"Wow, really? But, if your vessel 'Rookie' could achieve that kind of unimaginable speed then why did we even bother to take the long way to Lake Midgar? When we could instantly be teleported there?" _Carousel_ asked

-"Well, my vessel couldn't be teleported to places it had never been, because I still need to program the exact location into Rookie's brain for it to be teleported to that certain place, that's why Rookie must be familiarized to a certain place first, before it can teleport itself to that certain place."

-"How is that possible?" She again asked with such surprise in her eyes… -"How did we possibly get in here, in just a nick of time."

-"Like what I have said, my father invented this, so I don't actually know how this thing works… but the only explanation he told me was that…" As _Faust_ stopped cleaning up the mess and grabs something to eat from his kitchen. -"Everything is, and can be located everywhere." He said

-"Everything is located everywhere…?" _Carousel_ slowly asked as her eyes slowly narrowed… -"What kind of a saying is that? This is the only time I have heard such a saying." As she paused for awhile… -"Or did you just made that up?

-"…" Faust did not reply…

-"How's that…?" she asked

-"Yes, you see… everything is actually located everywhere." _Faust_ said as he tries to get a plate and a fruit from his kitchen. -"It all depends on how you perceive and look at it." He added as he took a bite from the fruit… -"Imagine this fruit is my Rookie" He said as he showed the fruit to Carousel. -"And this plate is my shelter." He said, as he laid the plate and the fruit on top of the working table in front of them, but placing them apart… -"You see… this fruit is not placed on top of the plate, because I obviously placed them apart from each other." _Faust_ said as they were both looking at it.

-"Right…!" replied _Carousel_ as she slightly nodded

-"In our own point of view, the plate and the fruit are at a distance because we are looking at them from above." _Faust_ continued explaining as they were standing and were looking down at the table with the fruit and the plate placed apart from each other. _Carousel's_ eyebrows were still pulled down looking a little skeptic.

-"But if we just kneel a little bit." _Faust_ suggested, while he and _Carousel_ slowly knelt down; their eyes are now at the same level of the plate and the fruit on the table. -"And now… you can see that the fruit appears to be placed on top of the plate." _Faust_ explained to _Carousel_ as they were looking at it. -"Everything can be placed anywhere we want it to be, see… it all depends on where we are looking at it." He continued saying… -"And now this fruit, that I am holding… 'Rookie'… laminates itself to that desired place, which is this plate… my shelter." He continued explaining, and _Carousel_ slightly nodded and was somewhat contented with his explanation.

-"Ah…" _Carousel_ sighed… -"So… that's how it works…?" She asked while having more important things in her mind to ask him about the beast that assaulted them, and she really wanted to ask _Faust_ if he really meant the things he said during his fight with the beast. There are so many things she wanted to ask him, she felt awkward just being there at his shelter.

 _Faust_ was slowly taking off his vest when he finally became aware and felt his wound on his chest. -"Ouch…!" He softly said while trying to feel his wound with his somewhat damaged arm.

 _Carousel_ saw what condition he was in and utterly attended to his throbbing. -"Let me…" She insisted as she helped _Faust_ took off his vest and she placed it beside her. -"Where are your first aid kits?" _Carousel_ asked

 _Faust_ couldn't look straight into her eyes… -"Uhm… right across those shelves." He slowly said; as _Carousel_ went on to get it.

-"Are your arms okay?" She asked while still looking for the first aid kit.

-"Yeah… these are just fine." He civilly replied as he tried to put in place some of the torn skins that are slightly sagging, onto his artificial mechanical arms. -"I was born without any arms, so again my father invented and made these especially just for me."

 _Carousel_ quickly glanced at _Faust_ and smiled… -"Now I know why you were not that worried about your arms."

-"I'm lucky to have a father like him."

-"You sure are!" She paused -"What are these?" _Carousel_ asked as she was still looking for the first aid kit, but stumbled upon things that she's not quite familiar with. Which are metallic like objects that are slightly rusted and some are even wrecked.

-"Those things are…I … I don't know either." _Faust_ slowly said -"Those things have been there ever since; my father told me that you could use one of those gadgets to take a picture of yourself, or you can even watch somebody from that."

-"From this…?" As _Carousel_ showed _Faust_ a square metallic but rusted object…

-"Yes…"

-"What do you call this?"

-"I… don't know, I forgot… all I know is that; those gadgets and devices are what they were using before the 'Great War' had happened."

-"Is this thing… working?" As she slightly shakes the thing that she was holding, having absolutely no idea what it is.

-"No, those things aren't working anymore; I'm just keeping them so I could relive the time what it was like before the 'Great War', they say that this planet was a very highly technological world where almost everything were prepared by sophisticated machines and robots." _Faust_ held up a small thin rectangular metallic but rusted object and said… -"Believe it or not… this tiny thing is what they used for communication."

-"How did you know…?"

-"Before the 'Great War' happened, I saw my father using one of these… and I heard that he was talking to somebody that's why I figured that they were using this as a communication device although I have never tried to use one. I was still very young at that time, that's why my memories are not that clear, but the thing that I remembered clearly is… the look on my father's face, every time he was talking to that other line, to me at that time he looked sad, very sad… but only now that I have come to age did I figure out that; it was not sadness that I saw on my father's face… but what I saw was… regret, an extreme disappointment on his face."

-"Do you know the reason?"

-"He never told me." _Faust_ replied… -"So anyways… this thing is what they used for their long distance communication." As he diverted back the topic because he didn't want to start a drama.

 _Carousel_ felt the uneasy situation and chose to ride the course while her lips twitched and her eyes were very understanding. -"Like a telephone?" She asked

-"Yes, maybe, or perhaps more than just a phone… its wireless and unlike today… where I still have to put the cable wires just to connect the telephones of the entire city."

-"Do you think that they were also using those devices as a self-defense… from…?" as she raised her shoulders "From bad… Erishans…?"

-"How did you know…? That's what I thought too."

-"Well, even though that thing is rusted, from here I can clearly see the holes on the sides of that device… which I think seems a very odd place for a speaker or a microphone to be placed at. I think that… there are substances that are coming out from there."

 _Faust_ slowly examined the holes… -"Hmm… or maybe these holes are used to fit into some sort of a mechanism for it to have a different function." _Faust_ said as he was holding the device and locating for a light to enter it, while looking at the holes.

-"Well, we will never know the other functions of that device but one thing we know is that… it was used for communication, and I guess that's the only important thing we need to know, as long as we know the significant function of a certain something then I think there's no need to rediscover it's past history because I'm sure everyone at that time had their own different way of using that device." _Carousel_ explained -"Here it is!" She said upon seeing the first aid kit, and she went back to _Faust_ to help him treat his wound. She first tried to disinfect his wound on his chest… -"Is this the only disinfectant solution you have?" She worriedly asked as she was about to pour the disinfectant solution to a piece of cloth.

-"I guess that's the only one left."

-"Then this might sting a little." She said

-"I know, just be… you know…" He said, his eyes widened as he prepares himself for the rubbing.

-"I will…" She softly replied

 _Faust_ , then slowly closed his one eye having the other eye looking at where the wound was… -"Ahhg…" He quietly said, when the damped cloth with the disinfectant solution touched his wound, he quietly tried to conceal the pain he was feeling, his lips were tightly shut.

 _Carousel_ treated his wound as fast as she could… -"There… it's finished" She said as she was putting the last strap of the patch. And she slowly held his arms. -"Don't these hurt?"

-"No…" He slowly replied, his eyebrows were pulled down.

-"Don't you feel anything?" She worriedly asked, as she was looking at his somewhat damaged arms.

-"I can feel the sparks but I don't feel any pain."

 _Carousel_ felt like she needed to offer a hand. -"What can I do to help?"

-"No, I'm fine… I can fix this." _Faust_ said as he transformed his right arm into an operating machine that had different apparatuses with it. -"See… I told you not to worry; I can fix my own arms. When my arm gets damaged, I can always fix them as long as only one of these gets damaged." He said as he was starting to fix his left arm. -"Because their artificial" He said

 _Carousel_ was looking at how he was repairing his arms.

-"What…?" He softly asked _Carousel_ upon seeing her looking at his mechanical arms… –"Do I look weird to you?"

-"Yes… I mean No!" She quickly corrected herself… -"It's just that… I find it strange because when we were younger, I never thought that you were born without any arms and that you already have those… How did your arms grew?"

-"They didn't grow…" He answered, as his tone hits to a drop… -"My father already made a lot of these, in an up scaled version because he knew that I would grow up someday and that I needed arms that would fit my body type, so all I needed to do is to get a new pair and replace my old or damaged arm. But obviously… since I'm not growing anymore and these mechanical arms aren't that badly damaged yet then I would just have to repair it."

-"Those arms your father made are truly amazing, they can even transform into different kinds of gears and equipment, you must be very thankful that he invented such things."

-"No… actually, this is where my talent comes in." _Faust_ abruptly said… -"Yes, my father invented these mechanical arms, but these arms will not move a thing if these were connected to… an ordinary Erishan, you see… you need skills to make these arms move." He continued explaining… -"Because these mechanical arms are just made up of metals and wires that are connected to my nerves. And because I'm a 'splitter' that is why I can transform these artificial arms into things that I want. My talent is all about transition, I can transform anything as long as it is made up of metals and as long as I have very close contact with that certain metal or thing."

-"So that's how your talents work, before… I thought that being an alchemist doesn't require any noticeable skills except to make and invent devices and gadgets."

-"Well, it depends… not all alchemists can make a transition, because it takes a lot of focus to achieve such a feat. And not all can do such actions, but if they can't, then it doesn't really mean that they are not alchemists." explained _Faust_ …

-"Then what actually is the basis for you to be an alchemist? Or what can you actually do, for you to be able to train at the alchemy division?" asked _Carousel_

 _Faust_ looked straight at _Carousel's_ eyes and said… -"As long as you have the heart and the will to train."

 _Carousel's_ eyebrows were pulled down and looked confused. -"I… I… don't get it."

 _Faust_ smiled and said… -"We are not required or oblige to have a gift when entering the academy of alchemy, all that they will be testing is our determination to study the field of alchemy… but once we entered the training; then our talents will be slowly showing, our talents needs training for us to fully unlock our skills, unlike in your academy of 'Impulsy' your talents are already perceived, noticeable, and that's why the shamans has no trouble in searching for 'splitters' like you."

 _Carousel_ then interrupted… -"But in our academy of 'Impulsy', all of us were chosen because we have an obvious talent in our field, which means all of us are certified 'splitters' whereas in your academy, you said; all that is required is the determination of oneself. But what if that certain person did not have any talents at all but had the determination to continue studying, still that Erishan is not a certified 'splitter'… meaning, all of you who are training at the alchemy division are not all certified splitters? Am I right?"

 _Faust's_ lips where pressed in a thin line… -"That's probably how you would put it." He answered… -"Because that's the only way for us to be found, like I said; we need to be trained first before our talents to be unlocked."

-"But how long will it take for a trainee to unlock his/her talents?"

-"It depends, like me and some of the others… we find it easier to unlock our skills and it only took us a couple of weeks to figure out our own talents. In my case… in the earlier days of my training I can already bend different thickness of metals easily with my bare hands… transforming it into different shapes and sizes, and it's not just because both of my arms are mechanical and artificial; but it takes tremendous focus and will to stimulate the electricity in my body which I need in my transition skill."

-"So… electricity is what you need?"

-"It's not just electricity that we need but to some extent… yes, that's what we 'alchemists' wants to achieve first, so we can perform a transition skill which is to transform a certain matter into a different composition, but…, of that same certain matter only."

 _Carousel_ slightly lifted her left eyebrow… -"Meaning… you can only transform things that are simply just made of metals?"

 _Faust_ slightly nodded… -"Yes, but I can also transform a certain element of metal into another element of metal; for example, I can transform a nickel into silver, a bronze into gold… as long as it is in the same state of metals."

-"So now, I know what an alchemist can do… transforming metals, hmm… if only bronze, silver and gold were valued these days." Said _Carousel_

-"No, not necessarily metals…" _Faust_ again interrupted -"Some alchemists has the skills to transform a certain liquid state, for example; they can turn water into a lava which are both in the liquid state or gas state like; transforming clouds of air into fire or any type of a certain matter as long as it is in the same state of matter."

-"Hmmm…" _Carousel_ replied… -"And by performing such skills then can you only be called an alchemist?"

-"Yes, an alchemist is a name given to us, because we train at the academy of alchemy and we are all called 'splitters' because we have cracked our God given talents." _Faust_ paused for a while… -"Can I ask, what do you call the splitters in the 'Impulsy' and 'Psychetensy' division?"

-"We just simply call ourselves… SPLITTERS…" _Carousel_ replied without any hesitation… -"So you said, it only took you a few days in training to unlock your talents? That's amazing." _Carousel_ said with admiration…

-"Thank you…" _Faust_ slowly and whole heartedly said… -"The shamans that were training me even said that I was the first and only one to have ever unlocked my talents in such a short period of time." He slowly looked down and his lips were tightly pressed in a thin line… -"Well that's because my father and I… knew that I had a special gift long before I even joined the academy, the moment I was able to move my artificial arms were the first signs of my gifts. That's why it was easier for me to figure out my skills… but some of the others…" He again paused and slowly said -"They just can't crack their God given talents."

-"I wonder what kind of an alchemist… Emoreh is?" _Carousel_ slowly asked

 _Faust_ was taken aback, his eyes widened and his eyebrows were pulled up; but his lips were pulled down.

-"Faust, can I ask you something about Emoreh?"

-"Sure, what is it?" He asked as his face quickly turned convincingly concerned.

-"Well, I'm just wondering up to now… I don't know what talents Emoreh possesses, even though we've been friends for such a long time now, I haven't figured out what his true talents are."

 _Faust_ slowly tried to gulp down before answering back. -"To be quite honest… I… I also don't know what his talents are." He slowly replied -"All these times we've been training, I haven't seen anything extraordinary about his capabilities."

-"You mean to say, he is one of the trainees whom you are referring to as; they just can't crack their God given talents?"

-"No, I don't mean to say it that way." _Faust_ quickly interrupted -"What I meant was, some trainees find it-longer to unlock their hidden talents but I'm sure someday they will; only time will tell." He sighed -"Or maybe Emoreh has already discovered his skills, and he is just not telling us, hmm… I think you should ask him." _Faust_ suggested

-"No, but, I'm embarrassed to ask." She replied

-"Why…?"

-"Well… now that you've told me everything about being an alchemist, and if I will ask him about that… then he will just be feeling pressured and insecure if ever he hasn't cracked his talents yet, and I'm afraid that pressuring him would be a hindrance for him in discovering his true hidden skills." _Carousel_ explained as she heard something very peculiar. _Faust_ had just finished repairing his slightly damaged artificial arms.

-"What is that sound?" _Carousel_ asked in a confuse manner

-"What sound?" _Faust_ replied as he stood up and searched for it.

 _Carousel_ slowly walked towards the container, where the water creature was held in captive, while her eyes narrowed.

-"Are you hearing something again? That I'm not…?" _Faust_ asked as his face was skeptic… -"Don't tell me that it's that beast again… It could not possibly have followed us over here!"

-"Shh… be quiet." _Carousel_ softly said… -"I think that water creature is the one making that sound."

-"What sound?" _Faust_ softly asked -"I don't hear anything." He said

-"You can't hear that?" _Carousel_ asked, as she was tapping the glass container

-"No… I'm not hearing anything." _Faust_ said again as his lips twitched -"What do you hear…?" He asked

-"I'm hearing a very… very low drumming sound." _Carousel_ said feeling a little bit unsure about the sound she was hearing.

-"Why can't I hear it…?" _Faust_ complained -"Are you sure that the sound you are listening to, is coming from that water creature?"

-"Yes, I'm sure it's coming from that water creature." _Carousel_ softly assured as she was looking at it. -"Hmm… I wonder, why is it making such an annoying sound…?"

 _Faust's_ lips were pressed in a thin line. -"Who knows, maybe it is trying to tell you something." He said -"You said that when you were just a little girl, you saw a water creature right?"

 _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed… -"Yes, but… it doesn't look like this."

-"Well, maybe their connected…"

-"I… don't know." _Carousel_ slowly sighed… -"Did you see the look on that beast's face when it was distracted by this water creature? I think that beast also heard this water creature's drumming sound. That's why it got distracted."

-"Yes, I did see that." _Faust_ replied -"But, do you think… that was the reason? And when I asked you if that was the beast that attacked you… you said… that wasn't the one?"

-"Yes, and I… don't know why that beast attacked us, it looks way different from the beast who attacked us before. But this time I'm sure that those beasts are associated with each other." _Carousel_ said, her voice was starting to sound really anxious -"I don't know what to do now, before… I thought that it was only Emoreh that they wanted, but now… it seems that, those beasts are also after me. I just can't keep running away from those beasts." She said, as she slowly shook her head.

-"That beast that we had encountered at Lake Midgar said its master wants you?" said _Faust_ as he was looking very concern…

 _Carousel_ was puzzled -"What does its master want from me now? I have a feeling that its master is the beast we have encountered at the Ruins of Goban Shrine." Said _Carousel_ as she was shaking her head again…

-"I'll protect you." _Faust_ abruptly said

 _Carousel_ slowly looked into _Faust's_ eyes as her eyes narrowed… -"Why would you want to protect me?" She asked

-"Uhm…" He tried to clear his throat

-"I'm… I'm… sorry… I forgot to thank you, for what you did for me at Lake Midgar." _Carousel_ softly apologized.

-"What… did I do?" _Faust_ asked, his voice was close to being fainted as if he didn't know…

-"You protected me from that beast; you let me into your vessel while you dealt with that beast all by yourself."

-"But… you did help me too, you know."

-"But without you… I don't know what would have happened to me."

 _Faust_ gave a quick sighed and slightly scratched his head… -"Well… I guess I was just doing my part, and besides… I promised Rachael that I will bring you home safely." He slowly said with a smile as he sat on the floor and rested his back on some of the torn mattresses that are also lying on the floor.

 _Carousel_ was intensely looking at _Faust_ while she returned the favor of smiling back at him. And she thought to herself… -"Faust, I want to ask you right now if the things you said to me are true. About you telling that beast that you loved me. All these times… I should have known better. But I know this isn't the right time to ask."

-"Do you think we should tell Rachael's father about what had just happened to us." _Faust_ asked, as he placed his arms on top of his knees, completely interrupting _Carousel's_ thoughts. -"Because like what you've said… Rachael's father has great talents…"

-"Yes of course!" _Carousel_ abruptly replied -"You don't need to tell me that, because I will really tell him about this, because if there is someone who could help us right now, I'm sure it's Heraldin." She said.

 _Carousel_ then slightly turned around and sat on the floor too, and was slowly looking through their surroundings… -"This place… kind of reminds me of our own shelter." She thought to herself… -"The only difference is that this is an underground shelter and most of the areas are technologically designed, but there are also a lot of junks that Faust is still keeping and large roots are sprouting from the cracked walls." She said to herself -"I guess Faust and I have something in common after all."

 _Carousel_ turned back to face _Faust_ and wanted to ask him if they could go to _Heraldin's_ shelter because she was worried about their situation…, but she found _Faust_ was already sleeping; he was lying on the floor, but his upper body was on the torn mattress and his eyes were already closed.

"Faust…" Carousel softly whispered

"…" But there was no reply from _Faust_ , all that _Carousel_ could hear was his deep snoring, so _Carousel_ did not bother waking him up.

-"You must have been really tired…" _Carousel_ whispered -"Thank you, you really stood up for me…" she thought to herself and she decided to lie on the torn mattress too. _Carousel_ was curbed like a ball while she was lying on the mattress.

-"I've never felt this so uneasy in my entire life." _Carousel_ thought… -"I should be feeling very scared right now, because of what is happening to us… but instead… I'm feeling this kind of awkwardness… is it because of what I've heard about Faust has said to me that he loved me and that I'm now… sleeping beside him." _Carousel_ sighed and slightly laughed to herself. -"What am I thinking… of course he was just being heroic, trying to look impressive in front of that beast." _Carousel_ told herself as she was looking at _Faust_ ; she was observing him in his deep sleep. _Faust_ was shirtless and appears to be feeling cold so _Carousel_ grabbed a torn fur blanket and laid it on top of him. _Carousel_ was very wary of their surroundings as she looked at the water creature that was on the container and it doesn't seem to be making any more noises, she then went to lie back at the torn mattress. -"This place… looks safe enough…" She slowly told herself as she was also very tired and soon fell asleep too. She then began having that same dream of hers again…

She was again walking up on a circular staircase made of clouds, and when she got to the top, it started to feel the same thing again; it was cold and misty and it feels harder… and harder for her to breathe again, and suddenly a bizarre fluid like object was floating in front of her and it slowly transformed into a floating mirror-like object… _Carousel_ looked at the mirror-like object while her eyebrows were pulled down… -"These… these dreams again…?" She slowly asked herself in her dream, her eyes narrowed. She waited for the fluid mirror-like object to settle because the transformation that took place was very wobbly… and finally the mirror-like object settled, and _Carousel_ could now see her reflection much better. She looked at the mirror-like object closely, she slightly stretched her neck towards the floating object as her eyes narrowed as she could now see herself clearly, and she then examined her image; her long dark hair in pigtail, her big light hazel eyes, her oval face and pouted lips. _Carousel_ slowly lifted her arm while still looking at her reflection, her clothes and her hand-made boots were a mess, but… her over all look was somewhat fresher than her usual representation, she looked at herself and then looked back again at her reflection, she noticed the difference so she started to wonder; why does she look somewhat different from her reflection? Her eyebrows were pulled down and her eyes narrowed because she was feeling very confused, as she again tried to look at herself and then slowly looking back at her reflection… but this time when she looked back at her reflection, her reflection was smiling at her… even though she wasn't really smiling at all, she immediately had goose bumps upon seeing her reflection, she felt scruples and a certain degree of eeriness, she immediately closed her eyes and started to breathe in heavily, and at last she awoke, _Carousel_ then slowly started to rub her eyes when she knew that she had already awaken from her dream.

-"Ugh…" She quietly said as she was running her fingers through her forehead, her eyes were still at heave. -"That dream again?" She thought to herself as she awoke and she started to have difficulty in breathing again … she slowly looked down to her torso and one of _Faust's_ heavy metallic mechanical arm was hugged around her waist, she looked at it and she slowly tried to lift it away from her, making sure not to wake him up… but, _Faust_ did woke up.

-"Uhm… s…sorry…" He slowly said as he removed his heavy arm from embracing her.

-"No, I'm fine…" She said -"I didn't mean to wake you up; it's just that your arm was too heavy that's why I took it off of me." _Carousel_ said as she was looking very unconvincing and a bit stressed.

 _Faust_ turned around to face the other direction… -"Did you sleep well last night?" He asked as he was a bit anxious to hear her reply.

-"Yes, yes I did sleep well." _Carousel_ replied as she still sounded a bit distressed.

-"But… but I thought you weren't…, that's why I hugged you." _Faust_ slowly said feeling unsure about what he had just said.

-"Why…? What makes you think that I wasn't sleeping well? Was I scrambling last night?"

-"No…, not really, but you seemed to be feeling very cold though."

-"Oh, that's probably because I was dreaming of a very cold place."

-"You were dreaming of a very cold place?"

-"Yes…"

-"Don't you mind if I asked…, but... what were you dreaming about last night?"

 _Carousel_ sighed -"Well, you see…, since I was a child I… I…. have always been having this dream, where this place was so cold and misty and I kept climbing this very high circular staircase, and there were old Erishans looking at me, their hairs were silver gray and I can't distinguish if they were males or females. All I know is that… they were all looking at me while I kept climbing that circular staircase, and when I got to the top…, that is where my dream usually ends…, but now… it seems to have a continuation."

-"What… is the continuation?"

-"Do you remember about the water creature that I once told you about?"

-"The water creature with a bizarre shape…? The one you saw when you were just a little girl?"

-"Aha…" replied _Carousel_ as she nodded

-"What about it…?"

-"I saw it again in my dream, it was floating on mid air and… and… it slowly transformed into a floating mirror-like object… and when it was finished transforming, I saw my reflection… on it…"

-"You saw your reflection? Now…, that's something I don't usually hear when somebody takes a good look at themselves at the mirror." _Faust_ sarcastically said… -"Well, whose reflection were you expecting to see anyways?" _Faust_ interrupted

-"Wait, let me finish…" _Carousel_ rolled her eyes. -"I saw my reflection but… but…I wasn't really sure if it was me, I mean; I saw my face, my whole body and everything on that floating mirror-like object but it doesn't seem to be me, it just doesn't feel like it was me, it was like I was looking into somebody else's reflection… and my reflection even smiled at me. But I wasn't smiling at all."

-"Really…? My… that's very creepy."

-"I know…"

-"Then what happened next?"

-"I…, I… woke up."

-"Oh… that's it?"

-"Yes…! That's just it." _Carousel_ said, her tone was sturdy

-"Then I think you should go back to sleep again, so you can see what will happen next."

-"It doesn't work like that…" _Carousel_ replied with a bit of annoyance towards _Faust_. -"When I sleep it doesn't guarantee that my dream will continue at where it had left, sometimes I do have these same old dreams and sometimes I don't, so it just doesn't work like that." _Carousel_ explained… -"And it is only now that my dream began having these continuations… and I don't know why…, I used to just ignore about it… but now…, it feels so odd."

 _Faust_ paused for awhile… -"I think that your dream has a meaning, I mean… I think that your dream is trying to tell you something."

-"You're funny…" _Carousel_ quickly said -"I'm not that naïve, I don't believe in superstitious dreams." She said, but her face looked concern… -"Do you really think so…?" She anxiously asked

-"Yes, I do think so…"

-"But… what could it be telling me?"

-"I… don't know, but you said Rachael's father has great skills, maybe he can help you with your bizarre dreams."

-"Heraldin!" She cried -"Oh! But he already told me that he couldn't see my dreams… And speaking of Heraldin, he might be worried about me; because I forgot to call him last night, I better call him now." _Carousel_ said as she looked concerned. -"Faust, may I use your phone." She asked as she was about to pick-up and dials the numbers on the telephone located at the corner table of the room.

-"Sure, but I'm not so sure if the line here is working, because there was again a sturdy earthquake yesterday morning and I figured, that the lines might have been dislodged again… but I don't know, I'm still not sure…you go ahead and try it."

 _Carousel_ hanged the phone between her shoulder and cheek, as she dialed the numbers… Moments later… -"You're right" She said -"The line is dead!"

 _Faust_ got up and checked the phone… -"Hmm… too bad." he said as he slightly shook his head. -"But why do you even need to call him?"

-"Well, I'm currently living at their shelter right now, so showing him a little bit of courtesy is the least that I could do."

 _Faust's_ metallic wrist band then sounded an alarm; he checks what it is about. -"Oh it's Rookie, what now?" He said as 'Rookie' was reminding him of something… -"Oh! I'm late for my training…" he cried as he saw his metallic wrist band flashing an orange light. He then immediately prepared himself for the day's training. -"Carousel, are you coming with me?" _Faust_ asked

-"Of course, what do you think I will do here, let me just fix myself first? She replied as she looked at her clock necklace to look at the time. -"I'm not yet late… but I could use the ride."

-"That's a beautiful clock necklace you have." Said _Faust_

-"It used to be…" replied _Carousel_

-"But it's still is beautiful." said _Faust_ as he takes a look at it… -"I remember… we also made a clock necklace for our project before."

-"I know…" said _Carousel_ as she held her clock necklace. -"Emoreh gave this to me."

-"Oh…" was all that _Faust_ could say… he looked somewhat depressed

And then there was a moment of silence… but they soon realized that it was about time to go to the academy so they both hurriedly did what they were supposed to do as they got ready for the day's training.

-"Wait… I think we forgot something…" _Faust_ said as they were about to leave, they were already seated inside his floating vessel.

-"What did we forget?"

-"We forgot… the water creature!" He cried -"I need to show that to Dimitris."

-"And I also need to show it to my trainer." _Carousel_ abruptly said -"Let me get it!" She suggested as she quickly got off the vessel, _Faust_ did not even have the time to answer back because she was too quick to jump off, all he knew was that _Carousel_ was already coming back, fast approaching the vessel with the container held in her arms.

-"That was quick!" Were the only words that came out from _Faust's_ mouth, _Carousel_ then boarded back the floating vessel 'Rookie'.

-"Are you sure the water creature is already inside that container?" He asked -"Because I put it in a different container last night…" added _Faust_

-"Of course, I took it from there and put it in here… see…" _Carousel_ said as she showed it to _Faust_

-"You're impressive!" He said… -"So are we ready to go…?"

-"Ready…" She replied

 _Faust_ then pushed a series of buttons on the control panel and 'Rookie' started to light up and they were instantly teleported at the Stellar Academy.

-"Are we already at the academy?" _Carousel_ asked looking very unconvinced of where they were… -"Because, this place doesn't look like the academy." She asked as she looked outside the window to witness the surroundings, it was dark, dirty and drops of water can be heard.

-"That's because we are here at the basement of the school…" _Faust_ replied -"Because I don't want 'Rookie' to get exposed to a lot of 'Splitters' when I'm using its teleportation mode. That's why I teleported us here." He added

-"Ah… so you've been here before?"

-"Absolutely, many times…"

-"This looks like a tunnel." _Carousel_ said as she looked around

-"A sewer indeed it is."

-"How did you come to know about this place…? I've also been training here for so long, but I never knew about this place."

-"Well, let's just say, I'm crafty." _Faust_ said -"If you walk straight up there, it will lead you right outside the academy's vicinity… so come, let's go this way, this will lead us straight to the school's vicinity." He said as he led _Carousel_ out of the murky tunnel.

 _Faust_ was holding the container with the water creature in it, and as they were walking… _Carousel_ noticed _Faust's_ arms were just as fine as they usually were, as if they were never been damaged.

 _Carousel_ and _Faust_ found their way out and were hastily walking when _Carousel_ suddenly heard the water creature making that low drumming sound again…

-"Why…? What's the matter?" _Faust_ asked when he saw _Carousel_ looking slightly bothered.

-"No, nothing… it's just that-that water creature is making that sound again." She said

-"Why can't I hear it…?" _Faust_ asked, his voice sounded frustrated as he held the container on top of his shoulder and leaned his ear towards it to try and listen to the sound, but he didn't hear anything. -"Nope, I still don't hear anything." He said -"But, why can you hear it?"

-"It's probably because of my skill" She explained -"My reflexes are getting better and my senses are getting sharper too" _Carousel_ said

-"Ah, so that explains it…" He said

They were looking for their way to get to _Dimitris_ when they unexpectedly crossed paths with _Emoreh_ and _Emery_.

-"Carousel, where are you heading?" asked _Emoreh_ upon seeing _Carousel._

-"To… Dimitris, did… you happen to see him?" She slowly replied, as she was taken aback by the circumstances.

-"No, I didn't see him" _Emoreh_ said -"How about you Emery, did you happen to see Dimitris?" He asked _Emery_ , _Emery_ whose soft spoken as usual and her eyes always set to the ground slightly shook her head… meaning… she too did not see _Dimitris_.

-"Why do you need to go see him…?" _Emoreh_ asked as he took a quick glance at _Faust_.

-"Because we need to show him this…" said _Faust_ as he showed the container to _Emoreh_ and _Emery_. -"We captured a water creature." He proudly said

-"No, he captured it all by himself…" _Carousel_ abruptly corrected _Faust's_ statement as she clung unto his arms… -"Faust is so skillful… isn't he just the best alchemist there is in this academy…" said _Carousel_ to _Emoreh_ as she gave _Faust_ a sweet smile… _Faust_ then narrowed his eyes… while looking at _Carousel_.

-"Really?" asked _Emoreh_ as his voice nearly fainted.

 _Emery's_ mood suddenly changed and her eyes which were always staring at the ground slowly looked up and stared intensely at the water creature.

-"You manage to capture one?" _Emery_ asked, her lips barely even moved while saying those words and her voice was so soft.

-"Yes…" _Faust_ replied with all smiles

-"Hmm…" She replied… -"Where did you find one?"

-"At Lake Midgar" _Faust_ said -"Carousel was the one who told me about it."

 _Emery_ then looked down again…

 _Carousel_ was feeling bothered again… -"That water creature hasn't stop making that drumming sound again…" She said… -"It's so irritating…"

 _Emoreh's_ eyebrows were pulled down and _Faust_ saw it. -"I know…" _Faust_ said to _Emoreh_ -"I can't hear it either, but Carousel can." He bragged -"Emery… can you hear it too? The drumming sound this water creature is making?" _Faust_ asked, but _Emery_ turned around and walked away…

-"Hey, wait for me!" _Emoreh_ cried as he soon followed _Emery_.

-"What's her problem?" asked _Faust_ as he was looking a bit annoyed

-"Don't mind her; from the very beginning that I met her… she has always been like that… she doesn't talk much, she doesn't look at our eyes much, her eyes were always stuck to the ground and I don't know why… she even tried to befriend me before but she just doesn't look very friendly, she seems to have the whole world carried upon her shoulders."

-"Poor Emoreh, he certainly has a lot of understanding to do for Emery." Said _Carousel_ -"And, he absolutely got what he deserves…" _Carousel_ concluded

 _Faust_ was filled with so much uneasiness… so he just asked… -"What division is Emery being trained at?"

-"I don't know, I don't want to know and I guess nobody really knows, because she's very unapproachable so nobody really knows her that much, except for Emoreh." _Carousel_ blatantly said as she briefly realized that she was somewhat sounded like _Rachael's_ tone of speaking. -"I thought they said that they were to leave 'Midgar City' at once, because of what had happened to Emoreh, but… why are they still here?" _Carousel_ said as her tone was near from being annoyed.

-"Because they were asking for our help…" a voice said at their back and _Carousel_ and _Faust_ immediately turned around to see who it was, who interrupted them…

-"Dimitris…! It's you!" cried _Faust_

-"Well, who would you thought it would be?" _Dimitris_ said in an annoying nasally sound, as his eyes flicker when he saw _Carousel_. –"What's your name again?" he asked _Carousel_ looking very friendly and accommodating.

-"Carousel!" she replied

- _Dimitris_ slightly smirked and nodded -"Training in the Impulsy division?" he asked

-"yeah" she replied

-"I knew you were familiar." Said _Dimitris_

 _Faust_ then interrupted their conversation. -"No, it's just that we were looking for you and we are so glad that you're coincidentally here." _Faust_ said with his eyes widened in surprise. -"I wanted you to see this…" He said as he showed to _Dimitris_ the container with the water creature inside it.

 _Dimitris'_ eyes widened when he saw the water creature. -"So… you actually captured one?" He asked

-"Yes… we did…"

 _Dimitris_ then immediately grabbed the container from _Faust_ and asked them to follow him. _Dimitris_ then led them to a secret area of the academy.

Chapter Ten "Soul Stealer"

-"This is Stellar Academy's research laboratory, where trainees and shamans are not even allowed here… but you two are exempted." _Dimitris_ said as he let them inside the room, he was about to take off the lid of the container to transfer the water creature to a larger container but then the water creature wobbled heavily and _Dimitris_ lost his control of the trembling container and dropped it on the ground. The container broke and the waters inside gushed out. _Carousel_ and _Faust_ couldn't believe what they saw and their jaws involuntarily dropped. They were expecting the worst scenario but to their surprise the water creature seemed to be unharmed, it was now floating on air as if it was still in the waters… the water creature then starts to venture around the research area.

-"Wow, I never thought that it could live in this environment… and look… it's moving as if it is still in the waters, swimming through the air…" _Carousel_ said

-"It's beautiful!" _Faust_ said as the water creature was still floating on mid air.

-"Look, its tear shaped body and transparent rainbow color is much more distinctive and intense now, now that it's out of the waters." _Carousel_ said -"Or, is it because it could be now seen clearly unlike when it was still in the waters which it only seems to blend in…?" _Carousel_ asked

-"Stop chatting around you two and start helping me capture that thing back." _Dimitris_ demanded…

 _Carousel_ then rolled her eyes… -"I should have told him to be careful." She said -"That creature is so hard to capture.

 _Faust_ and _Carousel_ then immediately went to help _Dimitris_ … but the water creature was moving so quick. They tried capturing it back but the water creature was swimming on air even faster.

-"Oh my, it was hard to capture that creature in the waters, but now, it is even harder for that creature to be captured on mid air." _Carousel_ complained

-"Amazing…! How could it possibly do that? How could it move in the same manner in a different environment…?" asked _Faust_ ; he tried everything that he can do to capture it back but with no avail, the water creature was so much faster now than it was before when it was still in the waters.

-"How are you two, suppose to capture it now?" asked _Dimitris_

-"How are we…? Thanks to you, we have to capture it again." Said _Carousel_

-"Just make sure that every possible opening in this room is tightly shut, so it won't have any escape route." Said _Faust_

-"Well, this is the perfect time for both of you to show me that you really did capture that water creature." _Dimitris_ said with a snort.

All _Faust_ and _Carousel_ could do was to shake their heads and roll their eyes…

-"I can't believe this." _Carousel_ mumbled to herself…

They tried capturing it back… and _Dimitris_ was just looking at them, _Dimitris_ then pouted his lips to show his displeasure as he was drumming his fingers on the table. _Carousel_ rolled her eyes again upon seeing him do that, but noticed the drumming sound _Dimitris_ was making with his fingers, her eyes narrowed and she tried to emulate the same drumming sound that she heard from the water creature… with their surprise the water creature stopped wobbling and slowly went to _Carousel_. _Dimitris_ and _Faust_ were amazed, their eyes widened.

-"What the… How…?" _Faust_ murmured

 _Carousel_ then looked at _Faust_ and slightly nodded…

 _Faust_ with his eyebrows pulled down… he paused… while looking at _Carousel_.

 _Carousel_ widened her eyes as she was looking at _Faust_ and she looked at a container near him. She was still mimicking the drumming sound.

-"Oh' I get it…" _Faust_ quickly mumbled to himself as he took the container beside him and quickly captured the water creature using it.

-"Gottcha!" said _Faust_ as he closed the lid of the container.

-"Nicely done!" _Dimitris_ cried

-"I thought you'll never get it…" _Carousel_ said to _Faust_

-"You two made a magnificent job and you both proved me, that you really can capture a water creature!" _Dimitris_ said with a snort, while _Carousel_ and _Faust_ just looked at each other with complete annoyance towards _Dimitris_. -"Now, take that creature and put that in that container, and don't put any water." He ordered

The three of them were all watching how the water creature swims, without any water in the container. And _Faust_ saw something at the side of his eyes; it was an egg shaped stall that is suspended at the center of the room.

-"What is that? Asked _Faust_

-"Oh that?" _Dimiris_ replied -"None of your business!" He said

 _Carousel_ looked at _Faust_ and sarcastically said… -"Thanks for asking…"

 _Faust_ just didn't mind _Dimitris'_ rudeness; instead he just turned his attention back at the water creature.

-"Amazing, how is it possible that it floats on mid air without having any wings and it moves as if it was still in the waters." _Faust_ asked, but no one replied because no one knew the answer.

-"Carousel... how did you make that water creature stopped?" asked _Faust_

-"I tried to imitate the sound that it was making..."

-"How…?"

-"I don't exactly know how to say this... but, it just came out from me naturally... perhaps my instinct, my talent just kicked in... I didn't expect that it would work but thankfully... it did."

-"Thankfully indeed... it is…"

-"Dimitris" _Carousel_ called

-"Yes…?" he replied with a very nasally voice

-"You said just now that Emoreh and Emery were asking for your help, so I'm assuming that you already know about the beasts that are prowling this world?"

-"Yes, Emoreh told me about it, but he also told me that he didn't actually see that…" as _Dimitris's_ face became relatively unconvinced. -"That beast…?" his eyes narrowed -"And that, you were the only ones who saw it."

-"Yes, we saw those beasts…"

-"Those beasts…? Now, let's not be too hasty in calling them beasts."

-"But they are, and there are two of them, the other one just attacked us yesterday when we were at Lake Midgar trying to capture that water creature." _Carousel_ said with conviction. -"I think we should tell all the Erishans about this, they deserve to know the truth." Said _Carousel_ …

 _Dimitris'_ slightly raised his left eyebrow and said… -"You should tell that to Demeon first."

-"Demeon…? ..., the school's possessor?"

-"Yes, and he told me that he also wants to see you because of a certain school competition that he wants to discuss with you."

-"Yes, certainly I would like to see him, but why would he? He has to know about these beasts that are prowling the planet first…? And I don't know where he lives." She replied

-"Just meet me at noon, after your trainings; I will accompany you to his shelter." _Dimitris_ said with a slight grin on his face… as he quickly led them out of the research laboratory… -"Demeon will be the one to explain everything that you need to know…" He added.

Afternoon came, and trainings at 'Stellar Academy' are ceased. _Carousel_ was waiting for _Dimitris_ , when _Faust_ approached her…

-"I want to come with you…" said _Faust_

-"You don't need to…"

-"But I promised Rachael to bring you home safely and I still haven't done that…"

 _Carousel_ slightly shrugged… -"Alright…" she said.

-"Hey!" a voice interrupted, _Carousel_ and _Faust_ immediately turned around to see who it was…

-"Oh it's him." _Carousel_ said upon seeing _Dimitris_ inside his floating vessel, with the glass window on its sides pulled down.

-"Come on, let's go, and hurry up!" _Dimitris_ cried as he was waiting inside his vessel. _Carousel_ and _Faust_ then went with him right away.

-"You're coming too?" _Dimitris_ asked _Faust_

-"Of course…!" _Faust_ replied

-"But you have no business there…" _Dimitris_ insisted

-"But… Carousel's safety is my business…" replied _Faust_

-"Why…? Do you think that she will be in danger and that she will not be safe in there?"

-"If… she really is safe there, then you wouldn't mind if I join in, won't you?"

 _Dimitris_ was taken aback… -"Of course not…!" _Dimitris_ tried to sound convincing… even if his voice nearly fainted. -"Jump in!" He said as he turned around and rolled his eyes. He then drove them to _Demeon's_ shelter…

-"Is this… where he lives?" _Carousel_ asked upon arriving at _Demeon's_ shelter.

 _Demeon's_ shelter is a huge old mansion, with gargoyles and grotesque sculptures on the exterior of the mansion… located just south of 'Midgar City'.

-"Yes…" replied _Dimitris_ … -"Now, hurry and let's get inside quick before the rain starts to pour."

They were all inside the mansion just as the heavy rain starts to pour again…, _Carousel_ and _Faust_ then looked around to observe their surroundings…

-"This is huge…" said _Faust_ , but he was barely heard because the sound of thunders outside is over powering.

-"Is there anyone around?" asked _Carousel_ -"Because I don't see anybody." She said

-"He lives here alone…" said _Dimitris_

-"Alone?" asked _Carousel_ -"In this huge shelter? Isn't that lonely?"

-"Lonely…? Perhaps… happy is the word I would suggest." _Dimitris_ slowly and strongly replied, as his eyes slowly narrowed. -"Believe me…" He said -"Now, go up there at the main stairs, and turn to your left, the third room from there is the Library… Demeon will be waiting for you there" said _Dimitris_.

 _Carousel_ and _Faust_ then went straight away.

-"Faust…!" _Dimitris_ abruptly called

 _Faust_ turned around and asked… -"Why…?"

-"Demeon only needs to see her not you, you come with me to my research area… I have lots of questions to ask you about that water creature you have just captured." _Dimitris_ insisted.

-"Just… do, what he says." _Carousel_ whispered -"I'll be fine, besides this place looks too beautiful for a monster to be hiding in." _Carousel_ said

 _Faust_ nodded -"Alright, I'll be just around the corner." he said as he went on to follow _Dimitris_ at his research area…

 _Carousel_ then went to the said Library and knocked on the door…

-"Come in…" A voice softly said, and _Carousel_ slowly came in and closed the door, she then saw a shadow sitting at one of the dark corners of the library and she saw eyes that were flickering in the dark. She felt a little bit nervous. -"Dimitris said that you wanted to see me?" asked _Carousel_ as she was very anxious.

-"Yes… yes indeed, I wanted to see you, come closer my child." The voice slowly said… -"I wanted to tell you that there will be a competition at 'Stellar Academy' and I want you to take part of it." He said as he slowly steps into the light, revealing his face to _Carousel_ …

 _Carousel_ was taken aback upon seeing _Demeon_ she was not expecting to see such a very charming man. He had dark hair and dark eyes.

-"Is there anything wrong?" asked _Demeon_ as he saw _Carousel_ in complete silence.

-"Are… are… you Demeon?" asked _Carousel_

-"Yes…" _Demeon_ replied

-"It's so nice to finally meet you sir."

-"The pleasure is mine because one of the best splitters in my academy is here. And she will take part in a competition." replied _Demeon_ with a smile as his eyes glimmer. -"So… _Carousel_?" he asked

 _Carousel_ nodded -"Y…e…s…?" she slowly replied

-"Now, I have finally met you too…"

 _Carousel_ abruptly looked down; she felt a bit self-conscious as she slowly asked _Demeon_ … -"What… do I have to do with the competition?"

-"Dimitris told me, that amongst all the splitters in the lower level that are training at the academy, you… stand out as the most improved… most enhanced… splitter that the academy has ever produced. So I want you to take part of it by joining the 'show off' competition, where you will have to show us all of your learned skills. So we will know if you can crack your own natural talents or not."

 _Carousel_ tries to clear her throat… -"Di… Dimitris told you that?"

-"Yes…"

-"But… but, he never told me anything about it." _Carousel_ slowly said as she slightly shook her head. -"I don't even see him very often, how could he possibly know about my talents?" _Carousel_ was looking slightly confused

-"Well, you know how Dimitris works sometimes…" _Demeon_ said, as he cautiously took a book from the drawer. -"You'll never know whether he's checking on you, or not. Even if you don't see him around doesn't mean… that he can't see you either."

 _Carousel_ glanced at what _Demeon_ was doing, her eyes narrowed.

-"What…? What are you looking at?" asked _Demeon_

-"No… nothing…" she abruptly replied as she distanced her eyes away from looking at the book. -"As far as I'm concerned, I know that I'm not that skilled yet." she said

 _Demeon_ was turning the pages of the book and said… -"Dimitris believed in your skills and so did I, now the only thing that's holding you back is your belief in yourself. You must believe in your talents for you to be able to crack it."

-"But I am already a splitter… I have already cracked my god given talents… and I am just training at your academy to improve and to develop more of my skills, what more is there for me crack…?"

-"A lot more…!"

-"More…?"

 _Demeon_ nodded as he was intensely looking at _Carousel_ …

 _Carousel_ felt slightly confused… -"But what if I can't crack any more of my God given talents?" she asked as she was tempted to look back at the book that _Demeon_ was turning pages again.

 _Demeon_ tried to insinuate _Carousel_ into asking him about his book, so he would know if _Carousel_ would be intrigued about his book… but _Carousel_ did not ask him anything. She felt that it wasn't appropriate to ask him about the book he was holding.

-"Then you can't proceed to the next level, which I believe you're friend Faust has already achieved." were the only replies _Demeon_ gave her…

 _Carousel_ tries to clear her throat again; she was feeling a little bit nervous. -"And what if I can?" she unexpectedly said. -"What would be the purpose of all these?"

 _Demeon's_ eyes narrowed and he slowly smiled. -"Now… let's not be too hasty in foreseeing our destiny… you can never be too sure… remember, you would still have to show us, that you can crack your God given talents before we can let you proceed through the higher level, but to be honest… I like your confidence." _Demeon_ said as he hid the book that he was holding and he held _Carousel_ on her shoulders and strode her to the center of the library. -"Take a sit…" he said to _Carousel_ as he looked out from the oriel window, it was already dark outside and the usual sound of thunder can be heard, and the weather is chaotic as usual.

 _Carousel_ then took a sit from one of the many settees that are in the middle of the library, her eyebrows were pulled down and she asked… -"Didn't we… the splitters of Stellar Academy had already cracked our God given talents, that's why we are now training at your academy? It's one of your prerequisites right? So I don't understand… why would I still need to crack my hidden talents? I have already achieved it, what is there for me to crack?" _Carousel_ asked again feeling very confused. -"All of us who are training at the lower level, aren't we called splitters yet?"

-"Of course, you are all 'splitters'… yes, but each and every one of you has still a special talent to crack?"

-"A… a… special talent to crack?" she unhurriedly asked. -"I… I… still don't get it; you mean to say, there are more talents that are hidden inside me?" she said -"But… how will I know that there are still talents that are hidden inside me, that are left for me to crack?"

-"Only you… can answer that." _Demeon_ said, his tone was very sturdy

 _Carousel_ slowly looked down and slightly bit her lower lip. -"I think I better ask Faust about it, at least he knows how to enlighten me and besides he had already proceeded to the higher level of training, meaning; he had previously passed the test." She thought to herself.

-"Has anybody told you how special you are?" _Demeon_ interruptedly asked

 _Carousel's_ eyes were moving from left to right, she didn't know what to reply…

-"Because I can surely tell that you are one…!" _Demeon_ concluded -"So… are you ready to take part of our competition?"

-"Sure" _Carousel_ quickly and softly said, she was caught unaware that she had agreed to _Demeon's_ offer, her voice barely faded…

-"Don't worry; I believe that you will not fail."

 _Carousel_ just smiled as she slowly looked at _Demeon_.

-"I just wish that I could live up to your expectations, you seem to have a lot of trust in me." _Carousel_ thought to herself, she then remembered the beasts that attacked them. She wanted to know if _Demeon_ could help them expose the beasts so that the people of Eris will at least be aware of; -"Did Dimitris tell you about the beasts that are prowling across the realm?" she asked

-"Yes… yes, Dimitris has told me about it." _Demeon_ answered as he was stroking his chin, and he gave Carousel a somewhat of a ferocious stare. -"But don't be too quick to judge them as beasts…" said _Demeon_

-"So… you know about these beasts? When did you come to know about these creatures?" as she shakes her head –"And I can't believe that you are even defending them…" said _Carousel_ as the tone of her voice was sounding a bit angry; her eyes narrowed… -"Why are you not telling the Erishans about this, are you not suppose to be their protector… our protector?" Carousel heavily sighs –"Those beasts!"

-"I told you, let's not be too hasty about calling them beasts." said Demeon in a very calm manner, as he gives _Carousel_ a pat on her back… -"I see… you are upset." He said

-"But… what are they…? They're obviously not 'splitters', specially the one that attacked us at the 'Ruins of Goban Shrine'… that beast was so scary, just imagining it gives me chills; it has huge wings and huge ears with pairs of huge pitch black eyes, and its jaws… are just daunting…" _Carousel_ narrated as she was looking very serious. -"I didn't know such creatures have ever existed in this planet… how could… God create such monsters?" asked _Carousel_

 _Demeon_ side glanced at her, and he looked somewhat intrigued. -"Can I ask… what exactly…, were you doing at the Ruins of Goban Shrine? Isn't that a bit too far for you to wonder around? And you think that God is responsible for their creation?"

-"Of course, who else would be responsible?" Carousel strongly said… -"I went there to visit a friend and we were attacked by that horrifying beast, luckily we were quick to get away." as she tried to sound believable.

 _Demeon_ heavily sighed and gave _Carousel_ a look that shows that he wasn't convinced by her reply as he slowly looked away from her… -"Why is it that… we, the Erishans, the people of Eris, believes that God is always the one responsible for creating everything that we see, everything that we can't explain and everything that we can't understand, don't you think that we, Erishans, the people of Eris, ourselves are not capable of creating such creatures?"

 _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed and she slowly asked… -"Do you know… something about those beasts?"

 _Demeon_ smiled as he looked deep into _Carousel's_ eyes. -"You're very smart, but I told you… they are not beasts."

-"Then… what are they? You obviously know something about them."

 _Demeon_ joined _Carousel_ in the settees and sat in front of her. -"They are called… 'soul stealers'…" he said as his voice was very sturdy as usual.

-"Soul… stealers…?" _Carousel_ asked as she was looking very curious. -"How do you know about this…? What are soul stealers…?"

-"Soulless creatures… a creature that is capable of stealing someone else's soul…"

-"But how could they possibly steal someone else's soul?"

-"They suck the soul out of someone else's life through their mouths, leaving them crippled and desiccated."

 _Carousel_ suddenly remembered the dead Erishan that they saw and come across at the 'Ruin city of Harlow' as she heard those descriptions from _Demeon_ , she paused for a while thinking if it was the right thing to ask and tell _Demeon_ about what she had witnessed at the ruined city, because she was also worried about _Heraldin's_ identity that if she told _Demeon_ about it, then there would be a possibility that _Demeon_ would ask her; why and what was she doing in a realm such as the 'Ruin city of Harlow' because that place is so far away from the 'Ruin city of Midgar' and that she may accidentally lead him into knowing _Heraldin's_ shelter. So she decided not to tell _Demeon_ about the dead Erishan incident.

-"How do you know all about these… soul stealers?" she inquiringly asked

 _Demeon_ stared at _Carousel_ for a moment then he slowly and slightly looked up and begins to tell her a story;

-"There is a story that was passed on from generation through generation… the story that tells about the origin of the very first soul stealer."

 _Carousel_ attentively listened to every word _Demeon_ said.

-"A few hundred years ago, during the time of the 'Dark Ages'…" as _Demeon_ continued retelling… -"There was a noble aristocrat land lord named, Victor… he had a pet, a large male 'priropterean' bat – but not a relative of the bats that we have today." _Demeon_ clarified

-"A 'priropterean' bat, now believed to be extinct, evolved from primates…, unlike the remaining bats of today that belongs to the order of chiropterans. Although both species have evolved to become a blood sucking creature … 'Priroptereans' evolved from primates; -primates which are also believed as were the first group of animals that we evolved from. Some primates evolved into the first group of prehistoric 'Erishans' and some primates evolved into the first group of 'Priroptereans'… they say that nature will always regulate evolution in a balance… one being the opposite of the other. As a result, some primates evolved having its hands and some turned into wings to take flight…. to become 'priroptereans'…, having the Erishans roaming the ground and Priroptereans soaring the sky. But at some point the war between the two species escalated and the prehistoric Erishans won, pushing the prehistoric Priroptereans into near extinction." … _Demeon_ then paused for awhile… -"Nobody really knew where Victor got his pet; all they knew was that, Victor brought his 'priropterean' pet into his mansion from one of his many voyages… and that was the only information the Erishans around him knew, Victor then wanted to save… and preserve its kind… but… how can he?, if his 'priropterean' pet was the last of its kind." _Demeon_ narrated as he stood up and heavily sighed; he slowly walked back and forth in front of _Carousel_ then continued his revelation… -"Victor became very frustrated by the fact that his pet will forever vanish if he doesn't think of a way for it to be saved from extinction… so he thought of a plan – a plan that involves breeding…, an experiment that is so disgusting to even listen to, …" _Demeon_ said, his voice was very sturdy as he gave an intense look at _Carousel_.

-"Victor then abducted a dominant Witch, together with her only daughter near their realm. He threatened the daughter that if she tries to escape, the Erishans around them would burn her and her mother because he will inform them their true identities and during that time of the 'Dark Ages'… anyone suspected of being a witch were thrown into the well of fire to burn, even if the Erishans were not yet convicted that they are really witches. Victor told the daughter that he is actually doing her, and her mother - the dominant witch a favor by letting them into his mansion under his protection. And in return he wanted the daughter to do something for him - Victor wanted her to mate with his 'priropterean' pet… and bare an offspring, the daughter was shaken and stunned; and of course became very frenzied upon hearing Victor's conditions… she strongly refused the order… at first, even citing to him that she would rather die than to mate with his pet, but Victor threatened her again, that if she doesn't comply with his orders… then she, and her mother together with their congregation will pay the price – to be burned in the well of fire, and then finally… the daughter agrees… Victor then introduced her to his pet and she was horrified when she first saw the prehistoric 'priropterean', she became very erratic at first but the consequences that were pitted against her were over whelming, she had no choice but to obey! The promises of riches and freedom were the things that the daughter held on for hope… the daughter's mating with the 'priropterean' were assisted by Victor himself, and he would even have physical interaction with the daughter first before she mates with the 'priropterean', to stimulate her arousal before mating with his pet. Victor even made a deception to the daughter, making her believe that he was falling in-love with her… and the daughter believed in him, and she too was falling in-love with Victor, so she tried to please him by praying to her God and asking her powerful mother to help her conceive an offspring. A lot of attempts were made before the daughter finally conceives an offspring in her womb…" _Demeon_ furiously said as he paused for awhile.

-"What…? The daughter of the dominant Witch has conceived an offspring of that priropterean?" _Carousel_ asked, with disgust

-"Yes, her prayers to her God were answered, she and her mother as well as their congregation will now be safe from Victor's wicked indictments… the daughter then finally gave birth to her offspring… which was the most horrendous creature Victor said that he had ever seen, it was like seeing the devil in flesh… but he was still overwhelmed by the fact that his pet was able to pass it's genes and he was satisfied with the outcome. Victor was successful with his sinful plans but worried that the witches knew too much about his evil doings… and that would damage his image as a very noble man. Victor did not keep his promises to the witches and instead he ordered his two helpers to throw the dominant witch and her daughter into the well of fire to burn… and he then killed his two helpers as well… as soon as they finished carrying out his orders,… but before the two witches were burned… they have managed to put a curse on Victor and all the Erishans around them who neglected and mistreated them as witches."

 _Carousel_ quickly interrupted… -"Witches are now believed to be the very first group of Erishans who have cracked their own hidden talents; they were believed to be the very first 'splitters' right?" _Carousel_ asked

 _Demeon_ nodded and continued his narration… -"The daughter was feeling an extreme hatred in her heart while cursing Victor, she cursed him using her offspring that he who feeds her offspring will bite the hands that feeds it… and will drain the life out of the one that gave life to it… the devil that she had given birth to, will suck on the blood of the Erishans and will consume their souls… that's what her offspring must do - if it wants to continue to live… those were the two witches curses to Victor before they were burned into the well of fire… they were cursing Victor as the flames were consuming their flesh, their bodies."

-"What happened to Victor…? Did the evil offspring kill him…?"

-"Well… I would have to say that-that would be the possible case… yes, and… the Erishans said that before Victor disappeared…, that Victor had suddenly gone mad… telling all the Erishans he met… that the end is near… that the devil was already born, and that it will bring terror to all the people of Eris."

-"H… how… how did you come to know all of these…?" _Carousel_ slowly asked again

-"They said that it was Victor himself who told them about his evil doings that he did…, but nobody really believed him because he had suddenly turned insane, and like you… it was also informed to me by the Erishans before me." _Demeon_ replied, as he sounded very convincing. -"Although, not a lot of Erishans knew about this story, but it's not like – it's a very well guarded secret." He concluded

-"Ah…" _Carousel_ replied, as she was still looking bewildered about the story that _Demeon_ had told her.

-"Did you know that there was a recent victim that is believed to be the doings of a soul stealer?" _Demeon_ interrupted as he asked _Carousel_ , she was then taken aback… then she tries to clear her throat.

-"Really…? No…! I didn't know about it." She abruptly replied

-"The shamans of the academy told me that they found a body that resembles that of a soul stealers victim at the Ruin city of Harlow."

 _Carousel_ slowly covered her mouth with her hand… her eyes widened - to look as if it was the first time that she had heard about the report.

 _Demeon_ sighed as his eyes narrowed and he doesn't seem to be convinced about _Carousel's_ reaction.

-"What did you do?" _Carousel_ asked

-"I told the shamans to keep their investigation a secret."

-"But… why…? Isn't it much better if the people of Eris would know about those 'soul stealers', at least they would be aware of them - therefore they will have ample time to prepare and protect themselves from those soul stealers…"

-"That will not be the case… because I believe, that if the story comes out… then all of the people of Eris would be living in fear again; they will think that they – the ordinary Erishans will have no chance to stand up and live against those creatures, and that they will envy the 'splitters' because they will also think that the splitters are the only ones who were chosen by their God to have the capability to fight those creatures and the right to continue to live, they will pity themselves for not being a 'splitter', the people of Eris will surely lose hope… and the will to live…. and I don't want that to happen again, especially now, - now that our realm is heading for recovery."

-"They… will live in fear…? Again…? Heading for recovery? Is this about the 'Great War' that had happened more than twenty years ago?"

-"You're absolutely right… it seems that you've studied your history very well." _Demeon_ said, as he convincingly complimented _Carousel_. -"The Erishans would not want to experience the same trauma that they had suffered during the 'Great War'… believe me Carousel, informing them about those prowling 'soul stealers' is not a good plan right now…" As _Demeon_ drums his fingers… -"But… don't get me wrong, I'm not persuading you into believing something that you really don't… we are all living in this free world… and the choice is yours to make… it's just that when you choose to tell them about these incidents… then be ready to protect them as well. Because clearly, the Erishans will be expecting you to do this for them as well…"

-"But we can't just let them be unaware of this kind of a situation." _Carousel's_ tone was hitting a higher note. -"We should at least show some concern for the people of Eris… we are only a mere hundreds in this city and would you bear to see that someone might get killed again… where is your compassion?"

 _Demeon_ heavily sighed as he looked away from _Carousel_ … and stood up and went to look outside again at the oriel window. -"I already lost my compassion… for all the Erishans." he quietly said…

 _Carousel's_ eyebrows were pulled down; her eyes were full of questions as she slowly turned to look at _Demeon_.

-"I tried saving this world, but with no avail…" _Demeon_ said as he swayed the heavy drapes of the window – to have a better view of the turmoil weather outside. And he started to speak in a very serious manner. -"People of Eris tries to conceal their insecurities from one another by praising each other… glorifying each other… but at the back of their minds they are really not… and in the end. It's their extreme jealousy towards one another that they couldn't contain that eventually led them into the 'Great War'… I thought that there was something that I could do to stop the war… but instead, all of them whom I thought who wanted peace in this world were actually the ones who wanted the war… and in my surprise they also wanted me dead…, but I was lucky to get away with it and made it to survive and live…" _Demeon_ slowly said as he looked down and paused for awhile… while trying to reminisce his past.

 _Carousel_ was very much intrigued, her eyes flickered. -"Tell me more…" _Carousel_ pleaded

-"It's already very late… I need to rest, and you should probably go home now." _Demeon_ replied as he was giving the impression of being tired.

-"But… I want to know more about your story."

-"Then perhaps you should come and visit me some other time… so I can tell you all about it…" _Demeon_ said, as he accompanied her out of the library, _Carousel_ did not have a choice but to follow him out of the library.

As they were walking through the corridors, _Carousel_ noticed a series of portrait paintings hanging on the walls.

-"Who are those?" she asked _Demeon_ as they were passing by each of the portrait paintings on the wall.

-"Oh these…?" said Demeon as he pointed each one of the portrait paintings… -"This… this one is my father. This is my grandfather, and this is my grandfather's father." he said as he was pointing out at each one of the portrait paintings on the wall. –"And last but not the least… this very charming Erishan man is me…" said _Demeon_ as he was pointing at the last portrait painting on the wall.

-"I see…" _Carousel_ replied

-"Is it alright with you, if I… will be back here tomorrow night…?" _Carousel_ whispered

-"Of course…" _Demeon_ softly said to _Carousel_ as he was looking around to look for _Dimitris_ … -"Dimitris!" _Demeon_ then cried, as he was calling for _Dimitris_ … _Dimitris_ then hurriedly walked out from a room.

-"Is there something wrong Demeon?" _Dimitris_ asked upon hearing his master, and _Faust_ followed right behind him.

-"It's getting late, and it's not safe for them to be walking home by themselves… attend to them until they get home to their shelters." _Demeon_ ordered

-"No, thank you… sir, but we can manage to go home by ourselves." _Faust_ abruptly said

-"But I insist…" _Demeon_ demanded, his voice was sturdy… -"There might be another 'soul stealer' on the prowl that might put an assault on both of you again."

"Soul… stealer…?" _Faust_ softly asked himself…

 _Carousel's_ eyebrows were pulled down, and she was looking a bit puzzled. -"How did you know that Faust and I were recently attacked by a 'soul stealer'…?" asked _Carousel_ -"I haven't told you about that yet." She concluded

-"…" _Demeon_ was taken aback -"Dimitris told me about that incident on the telephone… after you told Dimitris you two caught a water creature." he abruptly said –"And just to be sure that you two are safe from that soul stealer you encountered at the Ruins of Goban Shrine." He added

 _Carousel_ just smiled with a bit of shyness. –"Uhm… we will just be fine, Goban Shrine is very far from here and that soul stealer might just be around that area, I guess…" replied _Carousel_ feeling unsure about her answer.

 _Faust_ then manipulated his metallic wrist band and said… -"Rookie will be here in no time to pick us up."

 _Carousel_ was then left to wonder…

-"Who's Rookie?" asked _Demeon_

-"My vessel" replied _Faust_

-"But… I thought you said that Rookie couldn't go to places it had never been." _Carousel_ whispered

-"If I use Rookie's teleportation mode… then yes, it wouldn't work. But I am just leading it to go here; I'm actually the one driving it using this device." _Faust_ softly replied as he showed his metallic wrist band to _Carousel_.

-"But we left your vessel at the underground tunnel… is there a way for Rookie to get out from there…?" whispered _Carousel_

"Yes…" _Faust_ softly replied… as _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_ were just looking at each other…

 _Faust's_ floating vessel then soon arrived and both _Carousel_ and _Faust_ boarded 'Rookie' as they utterly bid for their leave-taking.

-"I'll be back tomorrow night!" _Carousel_ cried

-"I'll be waiting…" _Demeon_ said with a smile

 _Faust_ and _Carousel_ then went on through the 'Ruin city of Harlow' so to bring _Carousel_ home safely.

-"Just tell me where to go…" said _Faust_

-"Okay!" _Carousel_ replied

-"Alright… let's go!"

As 'Rookie' took off and _Carousel_ and _Faust_ were no longer at the premise of the mansion…, _Dimitris_ asked _Demeon_ a question… -"Why did you let her go…? This was your plan… this was the perfect time for you to have consumed her soul…"

-"I know, but I haven't sensed the soul that I saw from her before… maybe she is just not yet well developed for her soul to be consumed. And besides _Faust_ was also here… I told you to get that girl alone but you didn't and it would be risky to tackle them both."

-"But there's nothing I could do, _Faust_ insisted on coming here… and if I objected, he might suspect us of something, and what do you mean? ... _Carousel_ is already a splitter, what more do you actually want from her soul?"

-"Yes, indeed she is a 'splitter' but I believe that she is more than a splitter, she can still discover some of her hidden talents… I have witnessed it already with my own eyes and for her to become a higher… never mind." _Demeon_ jolted -"By then I can steal her soul, the more powerful the soul that I consume, the more powerful I will become." _Demeon_ concluded.

-"Do you really think that she is more than a 'splitter'? Because I can tell that she couldn't possibly be a 'soul stealer' like us." _Dimitris_ strongly pointed out… -"But…, could she possibly be a soul…"

-"Trust me… she is…" _Demeon_ quickly interrupted… -"I told you before that I have already seen a soul that came out from her body and seeing it even startled me… that is the soul that I want to steal, but not tonight… because I just can't perceive that soul that I have seen in her from before."

-"But how can her soul go out from her body if she isn't dead yet?"

-"I was also wondering about that same question of yours… maybe because I frightened her that's why her soul was able to go out from her body to avoid being consumed by me, or perhaps she needs to be reawakened, and that's why there should be a competition in the academy for her to compete with, so to trigger and bring back her hidden talents… I mean her hidden soul again." Said _Demeon_ as he smiled… "So, my so called competition plan has worked… my excuse has a use after all…" as he slightly laughed…

… _Dimitris_ grinned… "Hmm… you almost got caught, how did you know about…? I haven't told you about the…"

-"Conscience told me…" _Demeon_ quickly interrupted -"It was the right thing for them to have escaped Conscience… because if not, then there wouldn't have been a chance for me to have consumed her soul." _Demeon_ said, as he slowly looked up to the very high dome ceiling of the mansion, and in the darkness of the high ceiling was a silhouette of _Conscience_ who was silently dangling on one of the gigantic hanging chandeliers.

-"Leave that girl to me." _Demeon_ ordered, and a heavy sighed was heard from _Conscience's_ reply.

-"But… what if she figures out that we are in fact the 'soul stealers' that are prowling this planet?" _Conscience_ asked in a very deep voice…

-"She won't, I'll gain her trust… she won't have a clue and the only time that she will know about this… is when the time that I will consume her soul." _Demeon_ said with a grin. _Dimitris_ and _Conscience_ were just furiously composing themselves because they knew that they have no right to consume _Carousel's_ soul… because _Demeon_ was their master… and he must be obeyed.

Chapter Eleven "Soul Seeker"

Meanwhile, _Faust_ and _Carousel_ were having a conversation in the floating vessel during their flight going through the 'Ruin city of Harlow'.

-"What…? … Demeon told you that you could still crack some of your hidden talents? I don't get it, what more is there to crack?" asked _Faust_

-"I don't get it either… that's why I am asking you about this because Demeon told me that you are already training at a higher level than us. So I figured that you might help me on how get to a higher level too… but… what exactly did you do to have proceeded to the higher level?"

-"Nothing…! I mean, just like you, who were able to crack or discover your own hidden talents, I was also able to discover mine… and that's it. The only reason that I am training at a higher level is because I am already a senior, meaning I have been training at the academy for a much longer period of time than you do."

-"But why would Demeon tell me something that would imply that I still need to discover a hidden talent of mine? When… all it takes to get to a higher level is simply to stay and train at the academy for a longer period of time?"

-"Don't worry about it, maybe that's just exactly what he meant; maybe he wasn't good at explaining…"

-"He asked me to take part of the academy's competition; he said that if I don't pass the test then I can't advance to the higher level."

-"He said that?" asked _Faust_ , his eyebrows were pulled down

-"Yes…"

-"Aghhh… I… I… don't get it… either, I don't know what to say…" _Faust_ slowly said as his eyes flicker.

-"And Demeon also told me about what he knew about the 'soul stealers' that are prowling our realm."

-"Soul… stealers…? And yes…, what about them? What are soul stealers?"

-"The one that attacked us at Lake Midgar"

-"So… that was a soul stealer?"

-"Yes…"

-"How about the beast, that attacked the three of you at the Ruins of Goban Shrine? You said that it looked different from the one that attacked us at Lake Midgar."

-"Yes, that was also a soul stealer."

-"So… What about them? What did Demeon tell you?"

Carousel then told everything to _Faust_ , everything that _Demeon_ had told her.

-"So that's what he told you?" asked _Faust_ as soon as _Carousel_ had finished telling him the whole story.

-"That's what he told me…" replied _Carousel_

-"Do you believe in everything that he had told you?" asked _Faust_

-"I want to… but I mean… he sounded believable so I do believe him, why? Don't you?" asked _Carousel_

-"I don't know… I'm not quite sure." _Faust_ replied, his lips were pressed in a thin line… -"There's just something about him that I find him hard to trust." He concluded

-"And you know what…? When we were walking out from his library I noticed a lot of portrait paintings hanging on the walls and Demeon told me that those were the portrait paintings of his ancestors, his father, his grandfather, etc. but they all look the same. To me it looked like those entire portrait paintings were Demeon's face with different hair styles and clothings, of course because it was in a different time and era." Said _Carousel_

-"Hmm… really…? Then there must be something Demeon is hiding, knowing that he is just a common Erishan might not be true after all." replied _Faust_ as he was looking very concern for Carousel.

-"Why look at me like that?" asked Carousel

-"I'm worried; I'm really worried about you. That soul stealer we encountered at Lake Midgar said its master wants you. And I won't let that happen, I will protect you no matter what, even if it takes me forever protecting you."

 _Carousel's_ eyes begin to look teary upon hearing those words from _Faust_ and as she remembers _Faust_ saying how much he loves her when he was confronting _Conscience_ at Lake Midgar. _Carousel_ was lost for words she did not know what to reply, she just smiled at _Faust_.

-"Oh… look, were almost there…" _Carousel_ gladly said, as she was very happy to see _Heraldin's_ shelter again.

-"Where…?"

-"There…" she said as she pointed a cave house on a mount like shelter…

 _Carousel_ then knocked at the front door as soon as they descended at _Heraldin's_ shelter. And it was _Heraldin_ who opened the door for them. _Heraldin's_ eyes widened when he saw _Carousel_ …

-"I'm glad you're alright… I was worried when you didn't come home last night…" _Heraldin_ said

-"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to call you… the lines were dead." said _Carousel_

-"That's alright, at least you're safe and that's all that matters now…" _Heraldin_ said as he looked at Faust… -"Who's your friend?" he asked _Carousel_

-"His name is Faust… he's an alchemist at the academy."

-"Ah… come… come inside…" _Heraldin_ said as he let them inside his shelter.

-"I'm glad to meet you sir, you must be Heraldin…?" asked _Faust_ as he shook his hands.

-"Yes, I am… but, the pleasure is mine… finally I got to meet the best alchemist at Stellar Academy."

 _Faust_ smiled and said… -"So that's what Carousel had been telling you?" as he slightly felt embarrassed but humbled.

-"No, I haven't told Heraldin anything about you." _Carousel_ abruptly said

 _Faust_ eyebrows were pulled down and he seemed to be really embarrassed and confused… -"But… how…?" asked _Faust_ as he now feels more embarrassed.

-"Heraldin has a 'mind-reading' ability… a-telepathy…" _Carousel_ explained

-"Ah…" _Faust_ replied, as he was now suddenly looking around to avoid eye contact with _Heraldin_ …

-"This place is … awesome!" cried _Faust_

 _Carousel_ and _Heraldin_ then looked around the shelter and their eyes slowly narrowed because they couldn't find anything breathtaking in the area that seems to amaze _Faust_. All that they could see are old furniture and cracked walls. _Carousel_ was looking at _Heraldin_ as she slightly shook her head and slightly rolled her eyes.

-"Where's Rachael…?" _Carousel_ eagerly asked

-"I… I… haven't… " _Heraldin_ was trying to say something, when all of a sudden _Rachael_ came out from the corridor and started welcoming _Carousel_.

-"You came back…! Where have you been…? We've been so worried about you." _Rachael_ said as she hugged _Carousel_ tightly. -"You know what… the other day when you and Faust went to capture a water creature at Lake Midgar… Demeon… the school's possessor asked me to tell you that he wants us to visit him at his mansion to discuss the upcoming competition that the academy is planning to put up."

-"I know… that's where Faust and I took off."

-"Oh, so you already met him?"

-"Yes…"

 _Heraldin's_ eyes narrowed when he saw _Rachael_ …

-"Where have you been…? I've been looking all over for you." _Heraldin_ asked

-"I was just at the basement, at your underground shelter." _Rachael_ replied

 _Heraldin's_ eyes blinked rapidly as he looked away from them. -"I was at the basement just moments ago… why haven't I seen her there?" _Heraldin_ asked himself… feeling a bit confused.

-"Heraldin…" _Carousel_ said, as she called for him and held _Rachael's_ hands firmly… -"I have something to tell you, and to Rachael…" she said

-"What is it?" _Heraldin_ replied as he read _Carousel's_ thoughts…

 _Carousel_ then told everything to them about what had happened to her and _Faust_ at 'Lake Midgar' and she also told them about the things that _Demeon_ had told her in his manor…

-"Is that so…?" _Heraldin_ said as he whispered something to _Carousel_ … -"Carousel come with me, I have something to show you… oh but wait… " As _Heraldin_ hesitated… -"I can see you guys are tired and hungry… I guess I should prepare something for the two of you to eat first."

-"No, we're fine." _Carousel_ abruptly said… -"Come on, let's go… I'm curious…"

 _Heraldin_ looked at _Carousel_ … -"I can see that you need to take a break, so relax… that thing that I want to show you… can wait." Said _Heraldin_

-"Okay…" replied _Carousel_

During their dinner, _Carousel_ quickly finished her meal because she was very curious to see what _Heraldin_ wanted her to see.

-"Are you done? You barely ate your meal." Said _Heraldin_ to _Carousel_ -"Faust… could you please pass me those…." _Heraldin_ said to _Faust_

 _Faust_ did pass the bowl of some kind of a gelatinous food to _Heraldin_ but he did not look at him in the eyes. -"Yeah, why rush your meal? Is there something very important that you need to do? Here, eat some more." _Faust_ said, as he transferred some more food to _Carousel's_ plate.

-"That's… that's enough Faust." _Carousel_ pleaded

 _Heraldin_ noticed that _Faust_ was acting a bit immature and he never even looked at him in the eyes ever since they got to his shelter, so _Heraldin_ began to worry… he wanted to look at _Faust's_ eyes to see if he was hiding something from them. But every time _Heraldin_ tries to look into _Faust's_ eyes and ask him something – _Faust_ immediately looks down to avoid eye contact with _Heraldin_.

-"Carousel… Faust is right, why rush your meal? Is this because of what I've told you?" _Heraldin_ asked…, his tone was like… he was insinuating something.

 _Faust_ then pulled his eyebrows down, he was looking a bit annoyed, he wanted to look at _Heraldin_ but he didn't, he just sighed heavily.

-"Carousel, don't get too excited… it's not like I'm going to give you a gift or something." Said _Heraldin_ as he tries to insinuate that he has fondness for _Carousel_ …

-"Considering our situation right now… this is not a good time for gifts!" _Faust_ interrupted with a very sturdy tone… -"And you're too old for her…! I mean for that kind of manner!" _Faust_ said to _Heraldin_ as he finally looked into his eyes. _Faust's_ voice was shaking as he tries to clear his throat.

-"What…?" Was _Carousel_ could only say…

 _Heraldin_ finally had the chance to read _Faust's_ mind and he finally understood why he was avoiding eye contact with him. _Heraldin's_ eyes slowly narrowed as he was looking at _Faust_ – _Faust_ on the other hand… quickly turned to look away when he realizes that _Heraldin_ was reading his thoughts. _Heraldin_ then looked at _Carousel_ and smiled at her.

-"Why are you smiling at me like that?" asked _Carousel_ as she was clueless of the whole situation.

-"Nothing…" replied _Heraldin_ as his tone hit a higher note. -"So… Faust has a special liking and feelings for Carousel." _Heraldin_ then thought to himself…

-"Yeah, why are you smiling at her…?" _Faust_ then asked _Heraldin_ , as his face was turning red. _Faust_ was thinking if he had done the right thing asking _Heraldin_ about why he is smiling, or maybe because he was just so uptight about the whole conversation.

-"Do you want me to tell her?" _Heraldin_ asked _Faust_ … _Heraldin's_ face seems to be teasing him. -"Do you really want me to tell her? Why I am smiling?" He again asked _Faust_ in a teasing manner.

-"Yes…!" _Faust_ quickly replied -"I mean… no, yes… no!" He again said -"I mean… What am I saying…" said _Faust_ as he whacked his forehead -"I'm sure that-that was just a friendly gesture right…? Right…?" He asked, as he looked into _Heraldin's_ eyes and he widened his eyes to insinuate _Heraldin_ to agree with his statement.

-"Of course…" _Heraldin_ then quickly replied -"You silly young man…" said _Heraldin_ to _Faust_ -"My actions are nothing more than just a friendly gesture to Carousel, because she is the only best friend that my daughter has." Said _Heraldin_ as he both gave _Carousel_ and _Faust_ … an alternate intent look.

 _Carousel_ then slowly looked down because she finally knew what the whole conversation was all about. But maintains that she knows nothing about it because she doesn't know if it was the right time to entertain such thoughts, and besides she still have some feelings for _Emoreh_.

And then for a moment there was complete silence in the area, all they could hear is the drumming sound that _Rachael_ is making on the table.

 _Heraldin_ sensed an awkwardness of the situation, he felt accountable for the uneasiness of the place, and he wanted to break up the silence so to make up for his fault, he requested _Carousel_ and _Faust_ to follow him because he had something to show to them.

-"At last… finally I get see what it is!" _Carousel_ cried, sounding very perky. _Rachael_ then glanced at her looking totally not convinced about her lively reaction, as she pulled her eyebrows down.

-"You want me… to come too?" asked _Faust_

-"Yes, of course." replied _Heraldin_ -"You wouldn't want to miss seeing such an awesome place right?"

-"Well… right…" _Faust_ slowly replied as he scratches his head, and he looked somewhat embarrassed again.

They all went down to the basement, which _Heraldin_ calls his lower shelter.

-"Wow… now, this place is really… amazing." Cried _Faust_ upon seeing the lower part of _Heraldin's_ shelters which was very technologically designed -"This place looks entirely different from the one above… how… did you build this… shelter?" He asked as he was examining the whole area -"Because from the looks of this place – this whole place looks like an entirely different shelter."

-"But it is." _Heraldin_ said

-"Ah…" said _Faust_ as he nodded

-"I didn't build this… this is actually a huge combat vessel which crashed here during the Great War." said _Heraldin_ -"Well, not actually during…" _Heraldin_ quickly corrected himself… -"But… this huge combat vessel actually crashed here a few months before the actual war happened and since it crashed here… then I might as well make this huge combat vessel my own shelter."

-"You mean to say that this whole place was a huge vessel used during the Great War? Really…?" asked _Faust_ as he stretched his arms.

-"Yes…"

-"Well… can this thing still fly?"

-"I'm not sure, but I did try flying it but somehow it didn't work." _Heraldin_ replied as he continued walking, while the three of them followed.

-"I could help you fix this… if you want?" said _Faust_ as he gave _Heraldin_ a warm offer.

-"Why, thank you… I would be glad if you would help me to." _Heraldin_ replied as he was surprised by _Faust's_ sudden courtesy.

-"When would you want me to help you…?"

-"You can drop by anytime you want."

-"Okay, I will…" _Faust_ nodded -"And you know what…? I don't get it and I don't know why they even called it the 'Great War' what's so great about it?" _Faust_ asked

-"Maybe because that war almost wiped out the entire Erishan race that it was considered the greatest!" said _Rachael_ interrupting their conversation… -"There's absolutely no recorded war in history that could top that!" she concluded -"And now that – that war is finally over… there are 'Soul Stealers' that are now prowling the whole world… and we will be all wiped out in no time." _Rachael_ continued saying -"Unless we can do something that would annihilate those 'soul stealers' first."

 _Heraldin_ quickly pulled his eyebrows up to show how opinionated _Rachael_ was. And then he stopped… -"Here we are…" he slowly said as he opened a two-door, entrance. Inside it… is a huge area where there are lots and lots of shelves on the walls and glass– like containers were placed inside them. There were so many that it was impossible to count, the containers and the shelves would go up to the very high semi-dome ceiling of the room. Inside each of the glass–like containers, is a single speck of light with a different color from the other speck of lights that are floating inside each of the glass-like containers. Each container contains a single speck of light in it that eluminates the whole area.

-"What are those?" asked _Carousel_ as she was looking very mystified.

 _Heraldin's_ eyes slowly widened, he was amused by _Carousel's_ reaction. -"You can… see them…?" He slowly asked

-"What do you mean them…? You mean those specks of lights that are placed inside those containers…?" _Carousel_ asked -"Yes, I can see them…" She mumbled her words as she widened her eyes; she thought that – who? On planet Eris wouldn't actually see those specks of lights.

-"Those specks of lights are… souls…" replied _Heraldin_

-"S… s… souls…?" _Carousel_ slowly asked

-"Yes... those specks of lights that you see inside those containers are souls."

-"What are you guys talking about…? What souls? What lights? It's so dark in here, I can't see anything and I don't see any lights… unless someone would be kind enough to turn on the lights." _Faust_ cried -"Then that would be nice." He added

-"Don't mind him." _Rachael_ said to _Carousel_

-"Are you pertaining to me?" asked _Faust_ … but there was no reply from _Rachael_.

-"You can see them too?" _Carousel_ asked _Rachael_

-"Yes…"

-"But… Faust… couldn't? Why?"

-"It means… that he is not a 'Soul Seeker' like us." _Heraldin_ replied as they all walk through the isle of the room, _Faust_ couldn't see where they were heading, his hands were grasping for something to hold on to, so _Carousel_ grabbed and tightly held his hand to guide him on their way.

-"Whose holding my hand?" asked _Faust_

-"Me…" replied _Carousel_

 _Faust_ was taken aback as he slightly smiled.

-"Us…? Soul Seekers…?" asked _Carousel_ , she was looking somewhat anxious about the whole situation…

-"Yes… only 'soul seekers' like us can see these tiny specks of lights… and since you can also see the tiny specks of lights that are inside those containers, then that means you are not just someone who had cracked his or her hidden skills and became a 'splitter' but you are in fact a 'soul seeker' … a soul seeker is someone that is so rare in this planet, soul seekers like us rarely appears because one must be able to see a soul for him or her to be called a 'soul seeker' and not only that, but… a 'soul seeker' must also have a purpose for the souls that he or she can see… and probably this is what Demeon had seen in you, that's why he was suggesting you that you could still discover some of your hidden talents… but how did he come to know about this?" Asked _Heraldin_ as he looked into _Carousel's_ eyes to figure out who _Demeon_ really is… and by doing so, _Heraldin_ channeled into _Carousel's_ mind… into her thoughts and finally _Heraldin_ did see who _Demeon_ was, inside _Carousel's_ mind but he can't channel into _Demeon's_ thoughts. -"I can't read his thoughts…" said _Heraldin_

-"Whose thoughts…?" asked _Carousel_ in an anxious manner… she did not notice that _Heraldin_ had actually channeled into her mind.

-"Your school's possessor… Demeon's, I can't read his thoughts… I tried channeling through your mind to get to him but… I didn't get any readings about him…, maybe I must see him for myself and look into his eyes personally… for my powers to work on him. Because I sensed that he seems to be a powerful being too, and maybe that's why my telepathy skill didn't work on him just by channeling into yours." Said _Heraldin_ to _Carousel_ …

-"I knew there was something he was hiding from us." Said _Faust_ , as he was trying to look at one of them but he just couldn't focus to because he couldn't see anything. –"The moment I first saw him I knew there was something about Demeon that he shouldn't be trusted." _Faust_ concluded… -"But guys…? It's still very dark in here…, don't any of you guys' want to turn on the lights?" _Faust_ interrupted

-"No, because we can clearly see our surroundings…" Said _Rachael_

-"I thought Demeon was just an ordinary Erishan…" _Carousel_ thought to herself…

-"Are those actually the souls of dead Erishans?" _Carousel_ asked again, as she was still looking very mystified.

-"I told you… yes… those specks of lights you see, are actually the souls of dead Erishans." Said _Heraldin_

-"But how did they all get in there…?" asked _Carousel_ as she was wondering…, "Why are all those souls… inside those glass-like containers?"

-"I captured them… and put them all in there."

-"What…? You captured them?" _Carousel_ cried -"How? And why did you capture those souls and manage to put them in a glass container? I thought souls couldn't be contained because they would just pass through anything."

-"It's really quite easy to capture a soul if… if you could actually see one that is, and not everyone has the power to see a soul, and no! Souls cannot get pass through anything… they actually get stuck to a place where it is enclosed and abandoned. And once they get stuck… they get stuck there forever, unless a 'soul seeker' like us could help set them free."

-"But you didn't set them free."

-"I know, but actually… these souls that you see are the souls of the Erishans whom I have promised to bring their souls to a peaceful place."

-"And this… this is that place?" _Carousel_ teasingly and sarcastically asked

-"No, no…! I'm… I'm still searching for that place."

-"Then, where do you plan on taking these souls…?"

-"Well… you didn't seem to have read my book, I wrote everything in there." Said _Heraldin_

 _Carousel's_ eyes then narrowed as she slowly remembered that it was _Heraldin's_ own 'Book of Life' which he was talking about and that she fell asleep while reading it. -"I did read your book… but it's just that I… I… haven't read that part yet." as she tries to clear her voice… -"So how do you know that these are actually souls?" She continued asking

-"Because when an Erishan dies… a speck of light floats out from his or her mouth and I just figured that – that might be the soul of that dead Erishan." _Heraldin_ explained

-"So, you're not totally sure...?"

-"No, that's not quite the answer that I'm leaning to… because I… myself have experienced death, but… as you can see…" As _Heraldin_ vaguely opened his arms… -"I was able to come back to my body… believe it or not." _Heraldin_ said as he shrugged his shoulders… -"I actually experienced becoming a soul. Where everything I see is light and the feeling was so light. And I guess that explains why our soul appears to be somewhat a speck of light."

-"You experienced death? What was it like? Dying…?" _Faust_ interrupted as he was still blinded by the darkness and couldn't see the specks of light inside the containers.

 _Heraldin's_ eyes narrowed as he tries to recall his experience. -"During that time, when I first died…"

-"Wait, when you first died?" _Faust_ interrupted again as he was looking very baffled. -"You mean to say… there's a second…? A… third…?" _Faust_ concluded

-"Yes, yes, yes…" _Heraldin_ abruptly answered -"I'll tell you about those later, but now let me tell you about my first… because that was the most remarkable." As _Heraldin_ continued with his story… -"I felt an extreme pain that I can't even describe… it felt like my whole body was being crushed and I couldn't breathe… the pains were so intense, that my body was reacting to the pains differently, having the opposite reaction… I felt extremely cold, but my body was sweating… and then I felt extremely hot, but my body was shivering. The feeling just keeps repeating itself, it's an alternate feeling of the opposite reaction; it was such a torture… not only because of the intense pain that I was feeling but also the awareness of knowing that I was actually going to die. I could literally feel my veins shriveling, my chest… feels like it's about to explode and I couldn't scream because my body doesn't know how to react anymore, maybe because of the different kinds of pain that I was feeling… that it would be better if I just kept quiet… for nothing could ease the pain." _Heraldin_ narrated as he heavily sighed before he continued saying… -"I was feeling an extreme pain but then suddenly I couldn't feel anything anymore… my whole body just suddenly turned numb. And then soon after, the extreme pain… faded away, and suddenly the feeling of extreme bliss was then the feeling that I was soon experiencing, I felt very much relax… I felt like sleeping but it was so much more intense than that. I was being drawn into that very soothing feeling that I wouldn't want to get out from. I wanted that feeling… I wanted my feelings to stay that way forever… my state of mind was absolutely wonderful, I didn't remember anything… I didn't even remember who I was… but it was okay because I felt like I didn't need to… the feeling of extreme bliss was too powerful for me to even try to think of whom I was, or to even try to think of something." _Heraldin_ paused as he reminisces those thoughts.

-"How…? How did you get out from that state…? How did you come back to life?" asked _Faust_

-"I heard a voice…" _Heraldin_ softly replied… "I heard a voice… telling me to go back to my body… the voice told me that my body was already been healed and that it was ready for me to go back again… and I said… I didn't want to go back, but the voice reminded me something… it spoke to me, telling me that it can see the character of my soul, my soul which shows that I have made a promise that I haven't yet fulfilled… an unfinished goal, it seems like that voice knew something about me which I didn't need to tell it, - it was a promise that I soon realized, a promise that I made to my Erishans. And that's the time when I knew that I was actually dead and that I was already in my spirit form."

-"Perhaps your soul had shown something… something that – that voice recognized who you were?" asked _Carousel_

-"Maybe… but I don't know…" _Heraldin_ abruptly replied. -"I didn't get the chance to see what my spirit looks like; all I knew was that I was floating, and everywhere I look, these bright lights were blinding my sight."

-"Maybe that explains why… these souls have different colors." _Carousel_ explained as she again looks at the specks of lights that are inside those glass-like containers.

-"Hmm… maybe… you're probably right." Replied _Heraldin_ -"Maybe their color does represent their character… If only I have seen the color of my soul, then I would have probably known by now, who amongst those souls have had an unfinished purpose like me."

-"But it's not just the color that these souls differ; their shapes also vary in different sizes. Some are smaller than the other." Said _Rachael_

-"Maybe the bigger and larger ones are that of the 'splitters'. Said _Carousel_ -"And the smaller ones are that of the ordinary Erishan's."

 _Heraldin_ smiled and softly said… -"That's right… the bigger and the brighter ones are the souls of a 'splitter' and the smaller ones and are a little bit dimmer are the souls of the ordinary Erishan's."

-"How did you know?" asked _Faust_ , even though he cannot see the things that they were talking about.

-"These are actually the souls of my Erishans… my Erishans who cared for me and wanted my protection. And when they died during the 'Great War' I saw their souls came out from their mouths when they died, that's why I know the difference." Replied _Heraldin_

-"You mean, these are all the souls of your Erishan people who died more than twenty years ago…?" asked _Carousel_

-"Not all of them, but all of those souls are the souls of my Erishans from the past and up to the present… some of them died of natural causes… some of them died of sickness… some of them died from being murdered but most of them died during the Great War…"

-"Guys… even though I can't see the things that you three are able to see doesn't mean that I don't mind giving my own opinion about those 'souls' that you are seeing." As _Faust_ interrupted and quotes… -"But how exactly do you know that we actually have a soul? I mean… I would want to believe that I do have a soul… but, do all of us really have a soul? Or we just have to believe that we have a soul…? And then suddenly we have one?"

-"No, a soul… is the very vessel of our lives; it is what we have become, it is what we need to proceed to our higher purpose, it is what we have invested upon… like uhm... the floating vessel that I have… I mean, that we both have." _Heraldin_ explained to _Faust_ as he can see _Faust's_ eyebrows were suddenly pulled down. -"You see, we both own a floating vessel… right?" asked _Heraldin_

-"…Yeah…?" as _Faust's_ tone sounded uncertain

-"In my part; I wanted to go to, faraway places that I've never been to…, places that I so badly wanted to go to…, and that… is why I did everything that it took for me to get myself a floating vessel. So if I didn't have a vessel... then, I should have not gotten to places that I have been longing to go to. Just like a soul, if you don't have one… then there's no possible way for you to proceed to your higher purpose… meaning you don't want any purpose to be laid down upon you… because our soul is our vessel… without it there's just nowhere else to go."

-"But… how can we possibly have a soul?" asked _Faust_ -"Do we create it?"

-"Yes… But first, you must have a vision… a purpose for yourself." Said _Heraldin_ and he paused for a while… -"Then… you must have the determination and the will to have a soul. Because it's like…, there's absolutely no use of having a vessel, if you don't know how to use it…" As _Heraldin_ pointed out each of his finger as he continued with his outlook in life. -"If you don't want to go anywhere… or if you absolutely have no idea what to do with it, then there's absolutely… and I mean absolutely no use of having a vessel."

 _Faust_ nodded and slightly felt contented with _Heraldin's_ answers and he asked again… -"How were you able to get back to your body?"

-"The voice led me to my body… I wouldn't have found it… if it wasn't for that voice. I followed it… and then there it was, I saw my lifeless body lying on the ground, my wounds was gone and my body was perfectly healed, it was the very first time that I have seen myself… personally. And the feeling is very much different from just looking at myself at the mirror… from the feeling that I could actually see the true structure of my face, because when I am looking at myself at the mirror… the mirror is just reflecting my image and it's not even reflecting the right angle." … -"And then by instinct, I went inside my mouth… maybe because that is where… where I have left my body."

-"Then… you came back to life?"

-"Yes, that was the time that I came back to life…"

-"How did you die…?" Did someone kill you? Does the voice that led you to your body had a face?" asked _Carousel_

-"There are too many questions to answer, I think you should just read my 'Book of Life' again, so you can find my answers to your questions on that book, I wrote it all in there… and besides you… are not just a 'splitter' you are a 'soul seeker' and when the proper time comes… you will be needing to start writing your own 'book of life', and I hope that by letting you read my book of life… that I can help you on how to make your own… book of life."

-"Why do I need to create my own book of life…? Do every single 'soul seeker' needs to have one?"

-"Not really, but it would be necessary… so I suggest that you should make one for yourself, or make two or more… if you want, depending on how many important memories you would want to write on your book… because I'm telling you right now, that you would be needing it." Said _Heraldin_ as he was giving _Carousel_ an essential advice… -"Soul Seekers like us are the only ones who can come back to life, I know all these because I have experienced death so many times, although I'm not sure how many… but I was able to comeback every single time, and every time I came back to life… there's nothing much that I can remember, and that is why I needed a 'book of life' to refresh my memories. Nobody actually told me to write one because there's actually no one that I knew of before, whom who had experienced death like I did… so I guess that my instinct just kicked in… and luckily I managed to write one before my first death, because I was fond of writing, a what you call now as a diary… long before I first died. You need to write down all the important memories that you would want to remember… that is, if… you want to remember any… because if you don't want to remember anything and you just want to start a fresh life without any memories of your past life… then there's no need to make one." As _Heraldin_ pointed out while looking at _Carousel_ -"And I can see it in your eyes… you are probably wondering if we are in-fact immortals…? Right…? Then the answer to that is no! We are not immortals." As _Heraldin_ explained… -"But we are, if you look at it statistically… because we could always come back to life and our bodies will be automatically healed no matter how bad our body's condition is… once our souls entered our bodies. Meaning, we could live for no matter how long we want to, but the fact is that, we could also die, if we get tired of living and have no more desire to come back, then we'll get drawn to the extreme bliss that we can't fight it anymore."

-"How about those Soul Stealers…? Are they like us too?" asked _Carousel_

-"If they could see souls… then I believe so, because if Demeon told you that 'soul stealers' steals the souls of Erishans by sucking it through their mouths… then, they can probably see souls too. The only difference is that, we… 'Soul Seekers' seeks souls to protect and for us to be of any assistance to them when they get trapped."

-"But Heraldin… why did you entrapped all those souls in a glass container…?" _Carousel_ abruptly pointed out.

-"Because like what I have said, I have made a promise to these Erishans that I will guide them to a better place, to a much more peaceful place than what we have here on this planet… that is my promise to them… and very much my purpose for becoming a 'soul seeker'." Replied _Heraldin_

-"Then I must have a purpose for them too? A purpose for the souls that I can see…?"

-"Of course, that's the main reason for becoming a 'soul seeker' because once you are able to see a soul then there must be a reason why you can actually see one, and that's your goal to figure out why can you actually see them…, unless you have other plans…? But I suppose you won't go consuming those souls like those soul stealers do."

-"Father, what are saying… of course Carousel would never do such a thing…!" _Rachael_ abruptly defended _Carousel_ as she slightly shook her head.

-"I know… I only meant that as a joke." _Heraldin_ said, while he looked deep into _Carousel's_ mind… -"She is obviously going to become a soul seeker not a soul stealer… right…? Carousel…?"

-"Y… you… mean to say, I have a choice…? But of course." _Carousel_ abruptly replied… -"Why wouldn't I be? I wouldn't want ending up sucking every Erishan's soul… and I definitely don't want looking like those soul stealers, they look hideous."

-"Guys… can somebody please lead me out of this place, my eyes hurts already… it's been so long since I'm not seeing anything." Said _Faust_ as he was trying to feel the walls of the room but instead he touched one of the containers containing a soul.

-"Hey…! Be careful with that, you might drop that…!" _Heraldin_ quickly reminded him… -"Rachael… could you please show him the way out of here…" _Heradin_ asked for _Rachael's_ assistance.

-"Sure" she replied while her lips twitched

-"Yes" cried _Faust_ -"Let's get out of here…" he said but he didn't want to let go of _Carousel's_ hand.

 _Rachael_ then guided _Faust_ out of the room.

-"Where were we…?" _Heraldin_ slowly asked as _Rachael_ and _Faust_ left the room. -"Ah… I wouldn't want you to end up like those perpetrators… they were tempted to consume souls, souls of Erishans that is why they probably ended up looking like those hideous beasts." _Heraldin_ said

 _Carousel_ was shaken, her eyes narrowed as she exhaled -"Tell me what you know about 'soul stealers' asked _Carousel_

-"To tell you the truth… this is actually the first time; I have come across the term – 'soul stealer' if it wasn't for you school's possessor – Demeon… I wouldn't have known what they were called. But anyway, I will tell you something… a story that makes me believe in my assumption that those 'soul stealers' were once 'soul seekers'…" _Heraldin_ said as he began to narrate his story. -"Before the 'Great War' happened, some twenty years ago… I used to have a friend… a very close friend, more of like a partner I would say; his name was 'Isoah' he was a 'soul seeker' just like me… our friendship goes way long before the dark ages… about a few hundred years ago… and just like me, he too had a purpose for the souls that he sees… he told me that he wanted the people of Eris to be enlightened about the souls that the Erishans have, he wanted all the Erishans to be aware of the importance of having a soul. Isoah wanted the living people of Eris or Erishans and together with all the wandering souls that are scattered all around the world…, to live alongside with each other… even if ordinary Erishans couldn't see them; he wanted that every household must have a small enclosed shrine for their dead ancestors' souls to live in. He wanted that all existing and none existing matters should live in harmony. Those were his own purpose that he had laid upon himself for the souls that he sees… Isoah was a very good man… a great man actually, until there was a time where he started acting strangely… right after the Great War, and then suddenly I saw some bizarre transformation slowly happening to his physical body; his fair skin were turning into a grayish color and his eyes were becoming darker and darker every day until both his eyes were so dark that you can't see the white part of his eyes anymore... all you could see are his enlarged dark pupils… they have turned into pitch black in color and he was also hiding his hands and feet from me, he was always wrapping them up with cloth saying; he was always feeling cold that's why he was wrapping them up… I asked if he was feeling sick but he told me that there is nothing for me to worry about… until one day, when he wasn't aware that I was peeking at him; he was unwrapping his hands and feet maybe to change the soiled cloth that he had wrapped around them and then… I discovered that his hands and feet had turned into a claw-like feature, they were becoming like claws of a raptor's, like talons, and scales were noticeable from his wrists up to his arms and from his feet all the way to his shanks. I was so stunned to see what he was hiding from me, but I just stayed put for awhile to see if he had more to hide from me… and I was right… he then gets a jar from one of his many jars containing a soul; because that is where he was putting the souls that he had captured, he then placed his mouth on top of the jar's lid and started consuming the soul in it… his mouth also appears to be different, it looks as though it had gotten so much bigger and it resembles that of a beak of a raptor's, so I immediately confronted him about the things that I saw, I demanded an answer on why he was consuming and devouring the soul that-that was inside that jar… but instead he snarled at me and told me that I shouldn't intervene with what he was doing if I don't want to get hurt, and I noticed that his forehead looked like there was something growing on it… it seems to be a small horn that was growing at the middle of his forehead. I touched it and asked what it was, but he knocked my hand off telling me that's it's none of my concern. I wanted to ask him what had happened… I wanted to help him out but he immediately run off, he didn't provide me any answers to know what has happened to him. And that was the very last time that I ever saw him… right before the 'Great War' happened, I tried looking for him… but with no avail. And now, more than twenty years have passed… and I am still hoping that someday we will meet again, although today he might not look the same 'Isoah' that I used to know, but I'm hoping that I would still recognize him." _Heraldin_ said as he reluctantly continues with his recounting. -"Every night… I kept convincing myself that Isoah could possibly just have lost interest in living and decided to just end his life… but when you told me that there was a 'soul stealer' that assaulted you at 'Lake Midgar' and the way you described that 'soul stealer' to me… Isoah came into my mind… that 'soul stealer' could be him… so now, I'm… I'm torn… I don't know if I should be glad to know… to know the fact that he could still be alive so that I could still see him and help him… or it would have been better if he had just killed himself and died, because if that soul stealer is really him, then he had turned into an absolute monster." _Heraldin_ said as his eyes flicker.

-"Why was he tempted to consume those souls in the first place?" asked _Carousel_

 _Heraldin_ then took a glass-like container from one of the shelves with the use of his telekinetic skill and showed it to _Carousel_. -"Look…" he said as he opened the lid and allowed the soul to get out of its container… the soul then floated in midair as it starts to drift away and _Carousel_ tries to touch it.

-"No, don't touch it!" _Heraldin_ quickly said as he captured the soul back with the glass-like container before _Carousel_ could even touch it.

-"Why..?" she asked

-"You see, that's how tempting a soul is… you immediately got drawn into it and you tried touching it… a soul must never make any contact with someone else's body… because this soul might take over your body."

-"But I'm just goanna touch it, not eat it."

-"I know, I told you that I went inside my mouth to get back to my own body… but it's just that; that's not a guarantee that-that is the only way for a soul to enter a body… I don't know what might have happened to you if you had touched this soul… even I, have never even tried to touch one… I showed you this…" he said as he showed the soul again to _Carousel_ … -"To test if you will get drawn into it… and you did."

-"Does that mean I failed? I can never be a soul seeker?"

-"No, no… that's not what I meant for testing you…"

-"Oh, so you tried to test me because you're thinking, that maybe you're friend 'Isoah' was tempted to touch a soul, and when he did… a soul must have taken over his body?"

-"Exactly…"

-"But… we will never know if your speculation is true unless we try it." _Carousel_ said as she quickly held the soul inside the glass-like container in her hand. _Heraldin_ was caught by surprise… he didn't have time to read what _Carousel_ was thinking, she was too quick.

-"Hmmm… I'm not feeling anything." _Carousel_ said as she was holding the soul in her hand. -"I can't feel that this soul is about to take over my body."

 _Heraldin's_ eyes widened in disbelief -"Why… you witty little girl… you got me…" _Heraldin_ said -"You were too quick…"

-"Here… try holding it for awhile…" _Carousel_ said as she offered the soul into _Heraldin's_ hand… _Heraldin_ was hesitant at first, but he soon held the soul into his hand.

-"You're right… this soul isn't taking over my body… but why…? Is it because I too have a soul? And I don't feel like I'm drawn into consuming it now…" _Heraldin_ said as he faced _Carousel_ … -"Then Isoah must have just consume a soul in his own will, in his own curiousity, all the while I thought there was some kind of an influence, some kind of a drowning effect that Isoah felt that's why he consumed a soul, but now I know, he did it in purpose. And he never then stopped consuming a soul." Said _Heraldin_ as he was feeling very sorry for his old friend… -"Now, would you care to try consuming this…?" as _Heraldin_ showed the soul he was holding to _Carousel_ –"So we can also see if you would turn into a 'soul stealer'?" _Heraldin_ teasingly asked

-"Now that would be unnecessary!" _Carousel_ replied with a slight laugh… -"You said that you saw your friend 'Isoah' consuming a soul right…? … And I am convinced that-that is the reason why he became a soul stealer and end up looking like a beast. If you think that I would go that far just to prove your speculation… well, I'm sorry because I won't." As _Carousel's_ tone hit a higher note…

-"Take it easy… I'm just teasing you." _Heraldin_ said as he returned the soul back into the container and placed it onto the shelf with the use of his telekinetic skill. -"I'm just wondering… why Isoah chose such decisions." _Heraldin_ asked himself while feeling sorry for his friend.

-"But what I don't understand is why is it that the 'soul stealer' that assaulted us at the 'Ruins of Goban Shrine' looked very much different from the one that attacked me and Faust… at Lake Midgar." Asked _Carousel_

-"I don't have any idea… but my guts tells me that those two 'soul stealers' are obviously working together. And I do find Demeon's story believable about the very first 'soul stealer' that he had told you, because a few hundred years ago, during the dark ages… there was a time that I personally saw the offspring of that witch…"

-"Really…? You are that old?" asked _Carousel_ interrupting _Heraldin's_ interesting revelation.

-"Yes…" _Heraldin_ abruptly replied… as he sighed -"Now, let me continue… There were rumors on the village that Victor was protecting a witch inside his mansion… but I never knew that he was using her as an experiment. The witch was about to throw her child into a cliff when I prevented her from throwing her child. She told me that she had done a very terrible thing… and when I tried to unfold the wrappings of the child to take a good look… I was startled of what I have witnessed; the child was the most terrifying thing that I have ever seen. It looks as though the child had already devoured a soul, even though the witch told me that she had just recently gave birth to her offspring and then managed to escape just to throw away her child into the cliffs… I haven't yet fully developed my mind reading ability at that time and so far my telepathy skill wasn't that powerful yet… so I didn't really get to know the things that had happened to her, and I just told her that she should not kill her child but raise her child well instead." _Heraldin_ resentfully said -"If only I have known better… that her child was to become the very first 'soul stealer' then I should have just let her thrown her child into the cliff." Said _Heraldin_

 _Carousel_ just snorted…

-"Yes… I'm serious, if only I have known better." _Heraldin_ concluded… -"After the 'Great War' and now, these… 'Soul stealers' are prowling the entire world, what would become of us? We should do something before they kill us all."

-"But they do look very different from each other… the soul stealer that we saw at the Ruins of Goban Shrine and the soul stealer that both Faust and I encountered at Lake Midgar, but who amongst those two could have murdered the shaman at the Ruin city of Harlow?" For sure it was a soul stealer who is responsible for that shaman's death… considering the way that he died… and Demeon also knows about that incident… but who amongst the two soul stealer is the real culprit? And was that male Erishan, really a shaman from our academy?" asked _Carousel_

-"Yes, Rachael was right… that dead Erishan was in fact a shaman… from your academy… I talked to his relatives and they told me…that his name was 'Serroth' a shaman who works at Stellar Academy."

-"Serroth…?" _Carousel_ cried in surprise -"Was that really Serroth? Yes, I know him… he is in fact a shaman at our academy… Oh my… I didn't recognize that it was him, but Rachael did."

-"At first I thought that he was my friend Isoah, but it turns out to be… Isoah could be the soul stealer that you have come across at Lake Midgar… Then I went to Serroth's shelter the following day to see if I could investigate furthermore about his death, if he was just an unlucky victim of that soul stealer? Or… if there was more to it, and I found this 'key' in his room, it looked suspicious so I took it. This key… has an 'eye' engraved on its head." _Heraldin_ said as he showed the key to _Carousel_. -"Since Demeon also knows about this… then I might as well pay a visit to him personally at your academy and ask him what he knows about the incident, I tried reading his mind just a while ago when I channeled into his mind through your thoughts just like what I did to find your friend Emoreh… but it seems that Demeon could block my telepathy skill." Said _Heraldin_

-"Could it be possible that Demeon has a mind-reading ability too…?"

-"Possibly, yes…"

-"Wow, I thought he was just an ordinary Erishan."

-"From what I've felt a while ago when I channeled into his mind through your thoughts… he is an extra ordinary Erishan with lots of dark secrets to hide."

-"Hmmm… but he seems to be very charming to have dark secrets in his life." _Carousel_ thought to herself…

-"But you know what they say… never judge a book by its cover." _Heraldin_ said implying that he had read her mind and _Carousel_ gave a quick smirk as she slightly rolled her eyes…

-"But Demeon is rarely seen at the academy…" said _Carousel_ -"I guess you should pay a visit to him at his mansion…"

-"I'll take my chances… if he's not at the academy, then I'll go see him in his mansion."

-"I wonder what this 'eye' symbol represents… and what this key could open…?" asked _Carousel_ as she was examining the key that _Heraldin_ had shown her…

-"I also found this…" said _Heraldin_ as he took a booklet from his robe's pocket.

-"What's that?"

-"A diary… probably Serroth's…" he said

-" Serroth's diary…?"

-"Yes… probably." _Heraldin_ said again as he turned the pages and started reading some parts of the stained diary, he pointed his finger to where he was about to read a line so _Carousel_ could also see it… -"It says here…" He said -"I made a replica of his key so he wouldn't know that I have a key to his secret."

-"Who's he…?"

-"I don't know… Serroth didn't write the name of the Erishan that he was referring to." As _Heraldin_ was looking for a name on the booklet… but it was too dirty and tarnished that's why he couldn't clearly read all the necessary information.

-"But do you think that this has something to do with his murder?"

-"I think so, because from what I read through his diary… Serroth knows something about this particular Erishan's secret which this Erishan doesn't want him to know about."

-"But why didn't he write that Erishan's name?"

-"Maybe he has his reasons for not writing that Erishan's name… and whatever that is… we might never know. Or I might have just overlooked that name which Serroth has written in here because this book is stained and dirty; it's very hard to read some of the details."

-"Let me try to read it…" said _Carousel_ as she asked for the booklet from _Heraldin_ , she then narrowed her eyes to try to read it… but the booklet proved to be difficult to read because it was badly stained and tarnished… -"Even with my sharp eyesight, I have difficulty reading this book…" _Carousel_ added

-"But on the other hand he might be just an unlucky victim too… just like what happened to your friend Emoreh; because your friend Emoreh was abducted too by that soul stealer at the Ruins of Goban Shrine and your friend didn't know anyone whom he had a rift with."

-"But… whatever or whoever those soul stealers are, we must put a stop to them."

 _Heraldin_ nodded and said -"I'm glad that you still have the concern for others, because as far as I can see… Erishans everywhere are just looking out for themselves; they seem to have no apprehension for others."

 _Carousel_ smiled at him and said -"That's one thing that I will never take away from me… I grew up not having anyone and anybody who feels any concern for me, which is why I will never do that to anyone."

-"I think we're done here." _Heraldin_ said as he slightly stroke her head

-"I think so too…"

-"Let's get out of here and see what they're up to."

 _Heraldin_ and _Carousel_ then went out of the room and as they were walking… _Carousel_ said… -"Heraldin… actually, this is not the first time that I have seen these specks of lights, I have seen them when I was just a little girl but only now did I come to know that those tiny specks of lights are actually the souls of dead Erishans… meaning, I was already a 'soul seeker' long before I knew that I was a splitter?" she asked

-"Yes… absolutely…" _Heraldin_ softly replied

Meanwhile… back at the mansion, _Demeon_ sensed the channeling that _Heraldin_ did to his mind so he quickly summoned _Dimitris_.

-"What now Demeon?" asked _Dimitris_ -"Why is it that it's always me that you are always calling for?" His voice was somewhat irritated and was nasally as usual.

-"Because you are the only one amongst my subsidiaries that has a telepathic skill, and the one who could help me right now… someone was trying to read my mind, and I suspect that it was the old male Erishan whom I have encountered with at the Ruins of Goban Shrine, Carousel have probably told him about everything that I had told her."

-"So that was the one whom you said Carousel was with…?"

-"Yes…"

-"Hmmm… he's intervening with us? So what do you want me to do?"

-"Since you are the only one amongst us who has the ability to read minds, then you are the one whom he can't read. I want you to keep him company when he tries to look for me at the academy, which I assume that he will be, considering the fact that I have told Carousel every intriguing detail about a soul stealer. And he is probably wondering by now, why he can't channel into my mind."

 _Dimitris_ just snorted

-"And don't tell…" _Demeon_ softly said as he gave a skirmished look at _Dimitris_ … -"You know…? About this…?"

-"To Conscience…?"

-"Shhh… be quiet, yes…" _Demeon_ said as he was looking around the mansion. -"I don't want Conscience to know about this… and don't go calling his name out loud. Someone might hear you."

-"Don't worry… nobody is willing to come here… and he's out prowling through the realms to find his potential victims again." _Dimitris_ said as he assured _Demeon_. -"So what do you want me to tell to that… Heraldin if ever he comes?"

-"Just tell him that everything that he wants to ask me, will be answered in the right time and in the right place, you say… and if he insists on asking; why am I not always at the school? Tell him that… it's just that I can't come to the academy everyday because… because…" As _Demeon_ tries to think of an excuse… -"Tell him that-that's why I hired you, to be my assistant, which is your job. Just do everything that you can do, to avoid our meeting because he might read my mind."

-"But if that's the only reason that you're worried about… then you can always wear goggles… therefore he can't read your mind… because if he can't see your eyes… then he can't read your thoughts."

-"Wear goggles…?" As _Demeon_ slightly laughed -"Are you serious? Do you want me to make a fool of myself? Those things doesn't look good on me… and our sun; Asterie can barely shine a light on day time… it is always raining outside… can't you see… the weather is chaotic and you want me to wear goggles? Your idea is totally ridiculous."

-"But that's the idea… to protect your eyes from the windy conditions." Replied _Dimitris_ -"But you can also try to wear sunglasses… that would look good on you." _Dimitris_ concluded

-"But those things are passé; nobody has ever worn those things for decades." Said _Demeon_ as he was looking very worried…

Chapter Twelve "Book of Life"

Meanwhile… back at _Heraldin's_ shelter… _Carousel_ asked for _Heraldin's_ 'book of life'.

-"You said I could read it again right?"

-"Sure" replied _Heraldin_ -"Here" he said as he gave the book to _Carousel_

-"Why are you letting Carousel read your book of life…? You haven't let me read it first?" asked _Rachael_

-"Well… that's because you are not always around, but now, you can read it too…" Replied _Heraldin_

-"Can… can I read it too?" _Faust_ slowly asked

-"I can't see why not." _Heraldin_ abruptly said

-"Wow, you sure are confident for letting us read your book of life." _Faust_ said as his eyes widened. -"You must have done nothing wrong."

-"Why wouldn't I be…? I know that I've done nothing wrong… as far as I'm concern… that is, well that's my own opinion, and that is why I want you all to read it so you can also tell me your own opinion towards me." Said _Heraldin_

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then immediately looked into each other's eyes… they were looking very anxious upon hearing _Heraldin's_ statement; their eyes were full of questions that needed to be answered and _Faust_ eyes soon narrowed from being widened.

-"I'll be at my research area… if you need me." Said _Heraldin_ as he went to his room, _Carousel_ , _Rachael_ and _Faust_ then started reading his 'Book of Life' _Carousel_ turned the pages and in the first part page of the book… it read…

"My childhood"

"My name is 'Heraldin' a name given to me by my parents; Hera and Odin

I was born at 'Goban' and now… the only thing that is left there is the 'Ruins of Goban Shrine' I was born during the 'golden ages' and during the childhood years of my life… I could already see tiny specks of light…"

-"Heraldin was born during the golden ages? When was that?" asked _Carousel_ as she stopped reading for awhile…

-"Way before the 'dark ages'." replied _Faust_ -"Let's just continue…" he said as they did continue reading the book…

…which are floating on mid air and they seem to have no direction to go, and I thought it was very unusual because those specks of lights doesn't seem to fade away even if I come back the other day… their glow remains unchanged. And what is more unusual is that I was the only one who could see those three specks of lights. I showed them to my parents and to my brother but all they could see is the empty room where those specks of lights lie within. Until one day as I was walking on the market… I saw an old lady that I could hear some Erishans on the market say that she was about to die… and it turns out that the Erishans around were right, she did die… probably of old age, and then I saw a tiny speck of light that came out of her mouth… it slowly drifted away until it disappeared through the skies, and then I suddenly remembered those specks of light that I saw on one of the abandoned areas near our shelter. I realized that they were similar from what I have just witnessed at the market. I went there again to see those specks of light but my mother told me not to go near that aboandoned area again, because a neighbor told her that recently there were three Erishans that were murdered there…. And then that was the time that I began to ask myself; are those specks of lights actually the souls of the three murdered Erishans?"

"My younger years"

I tried very hard to figure out what those specks of lights were… and then suddenly I also started developing some unusual skills, unusual talents that I thought that I was not capable of learning… I was suddenly able to read the minds of the Erishans around me, whereas at first I was only presuming their character. And then I also developed a talent to see the future whereas at first I was only guessing the events that were to happen, I didn't expect that I could actually learn… and precisely predict the future. I used my newly discovered talents to help the Erishans around… and then citizens of Eris began calling me their 'savior' because I was able to save them from their downfall in life because I could see their future."

"They even said that I was the chosen one… chosen by God to save them."

"Erishans liked me very much that they even built me a shrine… the 'Goban Shrine' but now… its ruins are all that remains."

 _Faust_ suddenly asked… -"Isn't that the place where you told me where you have encountered that beast looking soul stealer?"

-"Yes" _Rachael_ quickly replied before _Carousel_ could even answer, as she told _Carousel_ to continue reading. -"Go on…" she said to _Carousel_ -"I want to know if my father became a fortune teller."

-"A fortune teller…?" _Carousel_ amusedly asked as she continued reading…

"The peak of my calling"

I became a preacher as well as a clairvoyant psychic; but to the inhabitants of Goban… I was their prophet; because my predictions were very useful to the community of Goban. They come to visit me in my shrine everyday to ask me if I could tell them about their future… until there came a time where they became very dependent on my predictions; they didn't want to make their own decisions anymore, all they want to do, is wait and rely on my predictions. Whether what I see is good or bad for them… they just accepted it.

"The burden of my calling"

I wasn't happy of what I was doing anymore, because the inhabitants of Goban just didn't understand the purpose of having someone like me who can foresee what their future brings, my predictions should only serve as a guide… not something that they should totally rely upon. They have let me took full responsibility of their lives; saying that they leave their fate totally in my hands… they had given me a duty which I have no choice but to take full custody of.

"Rejecting my calling"

I tried telling them that it is wrong for someone to leave his or her fate and life into someone else's hands. They should be the one to dictate their own fate… but they just didn't listen; they said that I was the chosen one… whom God had chosen for them to be their savior. And I thought that if they won't listen to me… then probably they would listen to our God…

… So I pretended that God had spoken to me, telling me that I shouldn't be making any more predictions for them, because God wants them to live their lives with their own decisions and not let anyone control their fate, but the public didn't believe in my declaration and instead they became furious about my testimony.

And the inhabitants of Goban still insisted that I should act upon their wishes, but I grew tired of their longing, so I intentionally started giving them false predictions… and they were certainly not happy when they began to notice that my predictions were soon failing.

"The price that I have to pay"

The inhabitants of Goban then started torturing me, both physically and verbally… they said that I was probably a false prophet; but I wasn't really a prophet to begin with, because they were just the ones who started giving me that name.

Then they started throwing stones and twigs at me when they see me, they even started spitting at me when they are not in the mood to see me…

-"They tortured him?" _Carousel_ asked again as she stopped reading again… -"Poor Heraldin… maybe that explains why he has those many scars." she concluded… then continued reading…

… The inhabitants of Goban began treating me with cruelty, some of them even made a conspiracy to kill me, and then when I knew about their scheme to kill me… I decided to just go away, to exile myself from the place that I once loved. But the public were too cruel… they said that they wouldn't let me out of Goban alive because I had brought too much hardships and misfortunes to their lives… they blamed me for everything that had happened to them… and that I have to pay the price, even though the only thing I did was to give them what they wanted from me; which is to tell them about their future opportunities and after all that I have done for them in the past… they still didn't show any consideration for me in the present, they treated me like I was an immoral, unlawful, whereas the only crime that I knew I did was to give them some false predictions… but my intentions were just for them to learn and for them to not rely on my predictions so much… at some time I told them that the weather was fine that it would not destroy their crops even though I knew that there was a coming drought. And there were also times that I would really tell them the truth, to make them see that my predictions were not consistent anymore that they shouldn't be relying in my abilities too much because I want them to believe that my predictions were not accurate anymore, but they never seem to learn… they locked me up at my shrine and they still insist in believing in my abilities… and when they finally learned that my predictions were not truthful anymore… it was too late, the realm of Goban was in a complete disarray. I wanted to get out from being locked up because I already knew what the inhabitants of Goban was planning to do to me, so I told one of my loyal servants to help me get out from that place… I just wanted to go away… and he did help me get out; well… that's what I thought… but what I didn't have predicted was that, he was helping me out so he could lure me into the angry citizens who were waiting for me outside the escape route that we had just navigated. I was caught off guard by his betrayal maybe because I trusted him too much, that it never crossed my mind that he would do such a thing. And when the angry citizens saw me… they immediately started beating me up with heavy sticks and rocks… I wasn't able to protect myself at that time because my skills weren't that well developed yet. They beat me up until… until they noticed that I wasn't moving anymore… and some of them even kicked me at my back to see if I would still react… but I knew that it would be better for me to just keep still and that was the only time that they stopped beating me… and then they just left me there on the ground badly wounded and dying… I was fighting for my life… but then the pain was so intense that I couldn't bare it any longer so I soon surrendered… and that was the time that I first experienced death.

And then I heard a voice… it was calling my name and it was telling me to go back to my body…

-"Okay… let's just skip that…" _Rachael_ interrupted as she turned the pages of the book… -"We already heard that from my father right? So let's just read what had happened next." _Rachael_ concluded -"And besides… I don't think my father did anything wrong."

-"I agree" _Faust_ abruptly said

 _Carousel_ then scanned the book and pointed out with her finger… -"Here it is" she said as she continued her reading.

… And when I finally went back to my body I couldn't believe that I was alive again, I immediately got up and wrapped my whole face with a blanket leaving only my eyes uncovered so I could see where I was going, I took some dried clothes from other Erishan's shelter so I could changed the ones that I was wearing for it was soaked in my own blood. As I was walking through the market, I heard some groups and they were talking about how they killed an Erishan a few days ago… how they killed their leader, and I soon realized that it was me that they were talking about… and I was surprised to know that it was already a few days that had already passed by since they killed me, it felt like it was just moments ago… I could still feel the remnants of pain that they had inflicted upon me and I could still recognize their faces… but I just walked away when I saw them, I wasn't angry at them… I was angry at myself… because I should have known better.

I walked and walked for miles… I have no food and water, I was so tired and I wanted to rest…

 _Carousel_ paused her reading for awhile and yawns… -"Why do I suddenly feel so tired and I want to take a rest too." she said

-"Me too" _Faust_ agreed to what _Carousel_ had said -"Let's just read this thing again tomorrow." he suggested

-"B…, but… I… want to know if my father had written something about my mother…" Rachael slowly said… -"Because I never had the chance to ask him about my mother."

-"You mean to say; you don't know who your mother is?" asked _Faust_ -"Your father never told you anything about her?"

-"Why is that?" _Carousel_ also asked

-"I… just didn't have the time to ask him." Replied _Rachael_

-"You didn't have the time?" asked _Carousel_ as her eyebrows were pulled down -"What kind of an excuse is that?"

-"Actually, the reason is… I don't feel at ease asking him about it, I mean… why would I even ask him about my mother? I never knew her, I never needed her, and the only one who was there to raise me is my father. So why would I even want to know anything about her?" replied _Rachael_ as her voice hit a higher note.

 _Carousel_ and _Faust_ then looked at each other with perplex reaction in their eyes and then… they both directly looked at _Rachael_ and said… -"But you already said that you wanted to know more about her."

 _Carousel_ then quickly scanned _Heraldin's_ book of life, to see if she could find anything or any signs of _Rachael's_ mother written on the book… but she couldn't find anything.

-"I'm afraid there's nothing written here about your mother." Said _Carousel_ -"All I could see are _Heraldin's_ different voyages in different places with his friend Isoah and his chance of meeting the witch's offspring… and he's right, that witch's offspring is in fact the beast that we have encountered with at the Ruins of Goban Shrine. Demeon also has the same description about that very first soul stealer."

-"Are you sure…?" asked _Rachael_ … -"Are you sure there's nothing written about my mother?"

 _Carousel_ then just pressed her lips in a thin line and she slowly looked down to avoid eye contact with _Rachael_ ; she wouldn't want to say anything that would offend her best friend. -"But I guess this is just one of your father's many books of lives… I'm sure there are more of these books in his research area… where he might have written about the things and the identity of your mother." Said _Carousel_

-"Did Heraldin tell you that he has more than one book of life?" _Faust_ softly asked _Carousel_

 _Carousel_ then quickly nudged _Faust_ with her elbow. -"Shh…" she said as she avoided eye contact with _Rachael_

-"I get it, its okay…" _Rachael_ said as she slightly nodded and went to her room.

 _Carousel_ and _Faust_ looked very concern for Rachael as they both too went to their respective rooms.

During that night, _Carousel_ was having that same dream of hers again; she was walking up on a circular staircase that reaches up to the heavens where there are old Erishans whose hairs were silver grey and they were dressed in black and white who are looking at her as she walks through the circular staircase. And again, a liquid mirror-like object was floating at the top of the staircase and everywhere she looks at; was misty and cloudy. _Carousel_ walked slowly towards the mirror and saw her reflection… and her eyes slowly narrowed as she examines her reflection, finally she recognizes her reflection… R… Rach… Rachael? _Carousel_ slowly asked as she touched her reflection and all of a sudden she woke up from her dream…

-"That dream again…" _Carousel_ thought to herself when she awoke as she was stroking her forehead… -"I forgot to tell about this to Heraldin" she said as she looked at her clock necklace… -"Oh it's already early in the morning." she said as _Carousel_ can't tell apart what is morning from night… because the two just looks the same… dark and murky as usual… -"I better tell it to him now, maybe he can help me to know what it means." She said as she went to look for _Heraldin_.

She found him at his research area, down at the lower shelter.

-"Heraldin… can I ask you a favor?" said _Carousel_ upon seeing him at his room.

-"Sure… as long as it is not about interpreting a dream, because I can't do that…" Replied _Heraldin_ as he was looking at _Carousel's_ eyes.

 _Carousel_ slightly jolted and said… -"Oh it's just that I keep having this same old dream… and I don't know why… and it's so frustrating." She said with vexation

-"Hush, my child…" said _Heraldin_ -"It's not that bad"

-"I know… but, can you at least tell me something or anything about my dreams?"

-"I'm afraid I can't… I don't have the talent to do that, and I am looking into your eyes right now but I can't even see your dreams."

-"But… why…? You can see the future… and you can read minds… so why can't you see my dreams?"

-"You see… a lot of times; an Erishan's fate relies and depends on his or her character, whatever he or she may do in the future depends on his or her attitude and character in the present; let's say, if someone is a hardworking individual… then it is clear to see that he will have plenty of work done in his future... And if someone is a lazy individual… then it is clear to see that - that individual will get no work done in the future, and that is why I can predict an Erishan's fate judging from his or her personal character. What I mean is that… all of us or some of us already have an idea of what our future holds… it's just that we don't want to know about it right now or right away. But a 'dream' is a different matter… it doesn't rely or depend on a certain individual's character. A dream is… something unexpected, something unforeseen, a dream is like a gift they say, that is wrapped up for you every day.

-"I see… maybe it was just a dream… a dream with no meaning I guess… Well, I'm just probably making a big deal out of it." replied _Carousel_ -"So can I just ask you, who was your servant the one you said that betrayed you… who lured you to the angry citizens? Why didn't you write his name?"

 _Heraldin_ sighed and slowly replied… -"I… I… didn't want to remember his name… I never want to remember him ever again, that's why I didn't write his name on my 'book of life' I just wanted to remember the incident but I didn't want the hatred to stay with me… forever."

-"So… if you don't want to remember something or someone, then all you have to do is, to not write anything about that certain something or someone?"

-"Yes, if you don't want to remember them in your next life… but as long as you are still alive and haven't yet experienced the feeling to come back to life… then the memories are still there."

-"But of course" _Carousel_ abruptly said

-"Why do you ask…? Is there something or someone that you wouldn't want to remember and that you are planning not to write anything about them in your book of life?"

-"No, nothing… I just asked that's all." replied _Carousel_ as she was thinking about… Emoreh…

 _Heraldin_ just looked down when he read _Carousel's_ mind and asked… -"Well… have you started making… one?"

-"Well, actually I never wanted to have a diary, but for some reason I don't know why I keep writing about my dreams and made my own diary, now I know that as a 'soul seeker' it is my instinct to write something and that explains why I have a diary, that is perhaps what I call my 'book of life'. But that's all there is written on it, about my dreams, about my repetitive dreams, nothing more. So if you're asking me if I have started to make my own 'book of life' with all my experiences written on it, then the answer is no, not yet… and I'm not even sure if I want to write one… because I'm not sure if I would still want to have a next life." Said _Carousel_ , as her voice slowly faded while she went out of the room. -"I have to go… I still have to fix myself before I train at the academy." She said as she was about to go… but then she forgot to tell _Heraldin_ something… but she soon remembered it… -"Heraldin…" _Carousel_ called as she went back to the research room.

-"Yes…?"

-"I forgot to ask you something…"

-"What is it…?" asked _Heraldin_ but he already knew what _Carousel_ would want to ask him…

 _Carousel_ was hesitant to say… -"I don't want to get involved between your personal life and Rachael's but… it's just that… last night, I pretended that I didn't see and read anything about Rachael in your book of life… I told her that there wasn't anything written about her mother too, but in fact… I read something intriguing about her… you wrote that you… saw her as a little girl at the market near the city of Midgar a few years after the 'Great War'… and you wrote that she seems to be just walking all by herself and everyone around her seems to just ignore her and that you felt pity for her that's why you took her to your shelter and raised her there… so you're not her real father? Does she know about this…?"

-"No, she doesn't know… she doesn't know that she is not my real daughter." Replied _Heraldin_ … -"And I am so glad that you have the decency not to tell her what you've read, even though I have let you all read my book of life. I knew that you wouldn't let her discover her real identity, not yet, that you would take time and proper measures to convey such matters, I knew you wouldn't act with such careless decisions just by the things that you have read in my book, because that would just be so improper… I have seen a glimpse of the future and I'm glad that I was right about you…" said _Heraldin_ as he was looking very thankful to _Carousel_ … -"I saw her at the market when she was just a little girl… she seems to be all by herself… that's why I came up to her and asked who her parents were…? And where is she from…? but she said she doesn't remember anything… and I asked what her name was, and she answered… 'Rachael' and I was glad that she still knew what her name was but I felt sorry for her because she seems to be lost and everyone in the market just seems to take no notice of her and ignoring her. They don't seem to care if a young girl like Rachael was lost and was all by herself; those Erishans were just thinking about themselves. And I tried reading Rachael's mind, so I could, you know, so I could find out who she really is and find out who might have lost her at the market… but I couldn't… I couldn't read her mind, and it was because, it turned out to be… that she also has a-mind reading ability just like me. And up to now, she never asked me anything about her childhood so I figured that it might just be best for her if I just don't tell her about it."

 _Carousel_ was a little bit intrigued about what _Heraldin_ had told her. -"Rachael asked me if there was anything written about her mother in your book of life but I didn't see anything, so I just told her that you might have written about her mother on your other book of life."

-"But I don't have any other book of life… the one that I lend you is the only book of life that I have ever made, and like what I have told you… I don't even know who her parents were… and why was she all alone during that time."

-"Do you think that we should tell her about this? Because judging from the way she acted last night… she seems to really want to know who her mother is… and it turns out… you are not even her real father."

-"Carousel… I know how frustrating this whole thing might be to you… and I know that you just want your best friend to be in a comfortable situation… but if Rachael insists on knowing who her mother is, then I should be the only one to tell her, since I am the father that she has come to know."

-"I know… it's just that… she can read my mind, and now that we have talked about her childhood, I don't know if I can keep this a secret to her."

-"Just try not to think about this conversation that we are having when you are looking into her eyes, therefore… she will not know about it."

-"I'll try…"

-"Carousel… there are still things that I want to ask you?" said _Heraldin_ as _Carousel_ was about to go and leave the area.

-"Yes?" replied _Carousel_

-"How did you find my book of life…? I mean… What can you say and what do you have to say about my past?"

 _Carousel_ replied with a strong answer… -"I would have probably done the same."

-"Really…?" asked _Heraldin_ as he heavily sighed and looked down… -"Have you finished reading it?"

-"Well…"

-"I'm assuming that you haven't…"

-"It's just that... last night... it was so late and I was so…"

-"Tired…? I understand." _Heraldin_ quickly interrupted

 _Carousel_ felt a little embarrassed –"There was something about your book that I was really drawn into it, I was feeling what you were feeling at that time, so I guess that's what happened, I don't know, everytime I read your 'book of life' I suddenly feel sleepy for no apparent reason even though I am very eager to read it and the things written in there are very, very interesting."

-"But do you still want to continue reading it?" asked _Heraldin_

-"Of course… besides I'm almost finished reading your book of life, and I want to… I want to know more about you… about your different voyages."

-"Then just give it to me when you're done reading it."

-"Don't worry; I will" _Carousel_ said -"But if you need your 'book of life' I kept it at the drawer... to the room where I am sleeping at, in case you need it back… -"Oh I have to go… I still have to go train at the academy." Said _Carousel_

-"Do you think that it's still necessary to train at the academy considering the dangerous things that are happening right now?" asked _Heraldin_ as his eyes widened and he was looking all around

-"I know, but there so many things that I still need to ask Demeon, don't worry I will not be harmed, I'm a soul seeker just like you, and they better be ready to tackle me because I won't give in easy, and you know that." Said _Carousel_ with authority as she was looking straight at _Heraldin_ …

 _Heraldin_ paused for a while as he was examining _Carousel_ … -"Alright, but you be careful okay?"

"I will…"

 _Heraldin_ just nodded… -"But aren't you goanna wait for your friends?" asked _Heraldin_ as he read _Carousel's_ thoughts…

-"Yes… right, anyways have you seen them?"

-"Rachael is probably at her room, but I don't know about your friend Faust, but I'm sure he found himself a comfortable room."

-"I'm sure he did, and maybe he is just sleeping somewhere, but I'll find him."

 _Carousel_ then went on to look for _Faust_ , she heard noises coming from one of the many underground areas of the lower shelter, she attentively listens as she walks down at the lower shelter, she then heard something was stroking at the walls… she followed where the sound was leading to, and there she found _Faust_ who seems to be fixing something at the basement. And smoke was gushing out from the exposed pipes where she was heading to, and exposed wires were also visible from the walls up to the ceiling.

-"What are you doing here?" asked _Carousel_ as she climbed down the rusty looking steel stairs… -"You're early? I thought you were still asleep." She asked

-"I couldn't sleep anymore so I went down here; I'm trying to fix these engines." Replied _Faust_  
-"Is that an engine…?"

-"Yes, this is one of the many engines of this huge vessel."

-"Wow… so you're really determined to fix those things?"

-"Of course, I want to see this thing fly." Said _Faust_ as he got up from being seated and examined the engine that he had fixed.

-"So… are you going to train at the academy today?"

-"I'm so hooked on fixing this thing right now and as you can see… there are many more engines to be fix and after I'm done doing all these, I will be needing a long rest so I'm afraid I'll just have to train tomorrow. But if you need a ride I'll be happy to give you."

-"No… its okay, I'm fine… I'm just goanna check on Rachael, maybe she will train at the academy today and then we'll just have to take the vessel at the station like we used to."

-"Carousel… I think we shouldn't be training at the academy for now, because it's not safe out there anymore… there are soul stealers that are prowling the entire planet. You could be in danger again."

-"But I happen to observe that they only attack at night… and our sun 'Asterie' will be shining soon."

-"How can you be so sure that they will only attack at night…? And Asterie can barely shine a light these days… Why? Did Demeon say anything about their agenda of attacking?"

-"No, I just figured that since I am a soul seeker and it is harder for me to see a soul during the daytime because of the light compared to the nigh time, then maybe… just maybe, those soul stealers' might prefer to hunt at night."

-"But you said; those soul stealers' sucks out the soul directly from a certain individual's mouth… they don't need to see where the soul of that certain Erishan is, because it is obviously inside their bodies unless those soul stealers are hunting for scattered souls all over the planet… then they will probably be agreeing with your opinion."

-"But what do you want me to do? Wait here until they disappear, which they will obviously will not. Don't worry about me too much, I can take care of myself and I also need to check on my mother… it's been so long since I haven't come home."

-"But you might accidentally lure those soul stealers to your mother."

-"Hmm… you're right, but I still need to see her, I need to see if she's alright."

-"Then let me come with you."

-"Why…? No, just continue with what you're doing, trust me… I'm just goanna be fine." Said _Carousel_ as she left the room… -"I'm goanna check on Rachael and ask if she would come with me."

 _Faust_ sighed and he continued what he was doing, then he slowly looked at _Carousel_ while she was leaving. _Carousel_ climbed up the rusted steel stairs leaving _Faust_ totally anxious about her, and she went to check on _Rachael_ … at the upper shelter…

-"Come in…" said _Rachael_ as _Carousel_ was knocking on her bedroom door.

-"Are you going to train at the academy today?" asked _Carousel_ as she was walking inside Rachael's room which was very cozy compared to the lower shelter which was very technologically designed… a very industrialized looking shelter that gives it a cold impression to _Carousel_.

-"Yes, I am… I'm just fixing myself." Replied _Rachael_ as she was looking at herself at the mirror when _Carousel_ walked in. _Carousel_ then remembered her dream from last night… which was a floating liquid mirror-like object. -"So… did Demeon tell you when the competition will start?" asked _Rachael_

-"No, he just told me, that I should participate. And if I don't pass the test… then I can't proceed to a higher level."

-"He said that to you?"

-"Yes… but it doesn't bother me." _Carousel_ replied -"Oh, you're so beautiful Rachael…" she concluded as she was looking at _Rachael_ at the mirror.

-"But so are you…" replied _Rachael_ -"All you need are some new clothes, so go on and pick some of my garments which ever you would like… it's yours."

-"Really…? Because I will surely take them all…" Said _Carousel_ as she picked a comfortable cardigan and a short skirt from _Rachael's_ closet to wear… -"Can I have these?" she asked

-"Sure, but why choose those?"

-"Because I want to wear something comfortable… I don't want the long layering anymore." _Carousel_ said as she tried on the clothes that she took from _Rachael's_ closet... and when she was undressing herself… she felt something in her pocket... she found a key with an 'EYE' symbol on its head in her pocket. -"Oh, I forgot to give this back to Heraldin." _Carousel_ thought to herself as she was holding the key but then hid it back in her pocket. When _Carousel_ had finished dressing up, she walked out from a partition wall where she got dressed to reveal the clothes she had picked. -"So how do I look?" asked _Carousel_ as she was flattening her attire…

-"You are beautiful, and here… try this…" _Rachael_ said as she took a scarf from her closet and wrapped it around _Carousel's_ neck. -"Try loosing this…" she also said as she took off _Carousel's_ pony tail, revealing _Carousel's_ luxurious long dark hair and _Rachael_ matched them up with a pair of handmade leather boots. -"Now, you look much better."

-"Thank you..."

-"It's nothing... just feel free to take anything from my closet." Said _Rachael_ as she tucked _Carousel's_ long bangs behind her ears

-"My mother is the one who is sewing most of my clothes out of used table clothes and curtains but it's usually me who makes them, they are all handmade, but your clothes' stitches are different are these machine made?"

-"Yes… my father buys them at Midgar city… and we also have a sewing machine which he bought at the city too…"

-"So Heraldin helps you with your clothes… but of course." Said _Carousel_ … as she answered back at her question -"And where else could he buy a piece of equipment if not at Midgar city… that's the only city in this planet I know that has recovered from the 'Great War' and that city… offers every possible opportunity for each and every one of us and for the remaining survivors of the 'Great War'… and there, you will find high tech gadgets for sale made by the alchemists at the 'Stellar Academy' and everywhere you look… machineries and robots are very common in Midgar city, whereas if you look outside the city of Midgar… all you will see are 'Ruins' of a ruined city."

 _Rachael's_ eyes widened, her eyebrows pulled up as she was giving _Carousel_ a teasing smile… -"So are we ready to go?" were the only words _Rachael_ asked

-"Yes… but just one more question… these beautiful garments that you have in here inside your closet … I haven't seen you wore them… and all the clothes that I see you wear, I couldn't see them here in your closet, why is that?"

-"You ask too many questions Carousel… let's just go!" _Rachael_ said as she rolled her eyes

-"Okay…" replied _Carousel_

And when they went out from _Rachael's_ room… _Faust_ was there outside waiting for them, he was a bit dirty and greasy because he was fixing the engines of the huge combat vessel at the lower shelter… his eyes widened as he saw _Carousel_ … -"You look… wonderful." _Faust_ slowly said… "Both of you…" He concluded

-"Why thank you." Replied _Rachael_ , as _Carousel_ felt a bit self-conscious

 _Faust_ tries to clear his throat before asking… -"I just wanted to ask if you both want me to take you at the academy? After all, Rookie needs a work out."

-"We'd love to…" replied _Rachael_

-"No, we're fine!" _Carousel_ abruptly interrupted -"We will just take the vessel at the station" she said -"You really don't need to worry about us."

 _Rachael_ then nudged _Carousel_ … -"What is your problem?" She softly asked

-"Nothing…" _Carousel_ whispered as she gave _Rachael_ a reminiscent look and then she walked towards _Faust_ and gave him a pat on the shoulder. -"You haven't slept well, and you've been working all day… what you need is a time off… Don't worry… I'll ask you a favor if I need to." Said _Carousel_ -"But right now, you also need to watch yourself."

-"Are you sure?" asked _Faust_ , his eyebrows were pulled down

-"Yes... I'm sure." _Carousel_ replied, her eyes were filled with sincerity... -"Just carry on with what you're doing."

 _Faust_ then slowly looked down and slightly nodded.

And then _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then both went out of the shelter to take a floating vessel at the station that will lead them to 'Stellar Academy' and while they were on their way… _Rachael_ said… -"I get it… you don't want to be with Faust more so often because you're beginning to like him… and you're afraid that your feelings for him might develop into a more intimate feeling."

-"What are you talking about…?"

-"Come on... you know that there's no point in hiding your emotions from me Carousel."

-"Okay fine, it's just that Faust is too good, too kind and too thoughtful that's why I'm beginning to like him too, and believe me... I would be very happy if my feelings for him would soon develop into a more intimate feeling… but what if… but what if it doesn't… I don't want him to get hurt just like what happened to me."

-"Ha…?" _Rachael_ was puzzled -"But why would he get hurt? ... I can see that he really likes you, but... you speak as if he already loves you." Said _Rachael_ as she looked at _Carousel_ -"But... does he?" she slowly asked as her voice hit a higher note. -"Oh my…" was all she said when _Carousel_ looked into her eyes.

-"I told you, I don't want Faust to feel the same way that I did."

There was silence for awhile…

-"So do you still have feelings for Emoreh?"

-"No, it's not like that, I don't know... maybe... but it's hard for me to just forget about him though." _Carousel_ slowly replied, unsure whether she had made the right thing to tell the truth to _Rachael_ or it would have been better if she had just lied about the real feelings she still has for Emoreh.

And then again there was silence... for awhile...

-"Oh, here comes... the vessel…" said _Rachael_ upon seeing the old and rustic huge floating vessel approaching.

 _Carousel_ glanced to take a look and saw that the huge floating vessel was still far from a distance; she instantly knew that _Rachael_ just wanted to break up the silence.

But still there was silence up until they boarded the huge community floating vessel. They haven't talked much about _Faust_ and _Emoreh_ when they boarded the floating vessel but instead they conversed about the water creature that _Carousel_ and _Faust_ had captured.

-"Where is that water creature now? I also want to see it." Said _Rachael_

-"We left it at the academy's research laboratory... but I don't know if anyone is allowed to go into that room, because Dimitris told us that-that is a secret area... a well guarded room, which trainees and even shamans are not allowed to go inside."

-"Then who are the only ones whom are allowed to get inside that room?"

-"I don't know... maybe Dimitris and Demeon are the only ones who can go inside that room."

-"But you and Faust captured that water creature... maybe Dimitris will let you in."

-"Well, what if he only lets me in... I mean, only me... what about you? What if he doesn't let you in?

-"I wouldn't mind letting you in..." a voice suddenly said in an enticing manner.

 _Carousel_ was disrupted for a second and was displeased to see that it was that same old dirty man, a crew member of the floating vessel who interrupted their conversation again.

-"Go away!" said _Carousel_

The old dirty male Erishan's eyes slowly narrowed as he was trying to remember _Carousel_ , he did not recognized _Carousel_ at first but he soon did…

-"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you... I never thought that you could look that good." Said the dirty old man

-"Yes, thank you... now if you would just please go away... my friend and I are trying to have a conversation here." Replied _Carousel_ without feeling offended

The old man looked around... and he then pressed his lips down, he was looking very baffled. -"Okay, whatever you say..." he said

-"Now, where were we?" asked _Carousel_

-"The secret research area at Stellar Academy"

-"Oh, yeah... right, what if Dimitris doesn't let you in?"

-"Well... the important thing is that when you are in there... and if Dimitris lets you get in there, then just let me in."

-"You mean you're going inside that room illegally?"

-"Carousel, you make it sound like I'm goanna be a criminal. I'm just going to go in there without the knowledge of Dimitris, that's all, it's not like I'm goanna be doing a very unlawful thing... I just want to see that water creature. Dimitris doesn't have to know about this."

-"Okay, but just don't blame me if Dimitris caught you in there... illicitly, now does that sound better?"

-"Much better…" _Rachael_ replied

Chapter Thirteen "Embloig"

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then arrived at the 'Stellar Academy' the very heart of 'Midgar City' just in time before the trainings starts to begin and then they both went on with their separate ways, _Rachael_ went to her designated area which is at the PSYCHETENCY division and _Carousel_ went to the IMPULSY division. Along her way _Carousel_ crossed paths with _Emoreh_ and _Emery_ at the isle of the academy; the two were holding each other's hand. But _Carousel_ did not notice them because she was busy thinking about that water creature and the competition that _Demeon_ had told her about.

-"Carousel... hi, I didn't recognize you." Said _Emoreh_ when their paths crossed each other…

-"Oh!" said _Carousel_ ; she was surprised by _Emoreh's_ sudden greetings. -"So... you're both still here?" she asked

-"..." _Emoreh_ and _Emery_ were taken aback… -"Wow... that is such a warm reply." _Emoreh_ sarcastically said

-"Oh, I'm sorry... it's just that I thought you two had moved to a much safer place." _Carousel_ abruptly said

-"And where did you get that? Who told you that we were moving to a safer place?" _Emoreh_ asked

-"..." _Carousel_ tries to clear her throat… -"No... Nobody…" she slowly said… -"I just thought and figured that you two must have looked for a much safer place to stay... because considering what had happened to you..."

-"No, we are not going anywhere." Said _Emoreh_ as he strode _Carousel_ to a place where _Emery_ could not hear them… -"Carousel... I don't even know if what you are saying is really true... because that beast you were saying... it never attacked me again. And Dimitris told me that there is no such creature like that - that exists in this world."

-"But Dimitris is just saying that because..."

-"You know what?" _Emoreh_ interrupted… -"Emery is right, maybe you are just making that story up so you can take control of me."

-"What…?"

-"Yes, you heard me right... so you can take control of me; you just made that story up, making me believe that you saved my life, so when you have done something that great then you can tie me up around your finger."

-"Why... why would I do that…?"

-"I don't know, you tell me…"

 _Carousel_ looked at _Emery_ from a distance, she saw her eyes flicker whom in return seems to be looking at her too. And then she looked back at _Emoreh_. -"Emoreh, I can't believe that you could think of me this way, I'm... I'm lost for words... I don't know what to say..." _Carousel_ slowly said, her words were shaking as she slowly walked away from them.

-"Yes, that's right... just walk away from me like that... again."

 _Carousel_ did not answer and she never looked back at _Emoreh_ as she was trying to fight back her tears, she just kept walking. She was deeply hurt by _Emoreh's_ accusations... she tries to remember how she was so worried sick about him when he had gone missing, when nobody even cared about his disappearance not even _Emery_... -"I have risked my own life just to find you... and you never even said a simple... thank you, and instead this is how you show your gratitude?" _Carousel_ mumbled to herself as she slightly shook her head.

-"Carousel there you are!" a voice cried from her back… while she was walking…

 _Carousel_ was sure that it wasn't _Emoreh's_ voice that she heard and it sounded like it was _Rachael's_... so _Carousel_ looked back to see who it was... and she was right, it was indeed _Rachael_ who called her up.

-"Carousel, I just met up with Dimitris..." _Rachael_ said as she saw _Carousel_ looking very dejected… -"Carousel... are you alright? Because a while ago, when we were together... you seemed to be okay, but now, you look like you just had a problem? What is it?" asked _Rachael_

-"Nothing…" _Carousel_ softly replied as she was avoiding eye contact with _Rachael_

-"Then why don't you look at me?"

 _Carousel_ then tries not to think about the incident she had with _Emoreh_ as she tries to compose herself… -"Nothing…" _Carousel_ softly replied again and this time... she was trying to think about _Faust_. She tried thinking about how thoughtful and kind _Faust_ was to her.

 _Rachael's_ eyes slowly narrowed as she read _Carousel's_ mind… -"You're worried about Faust?" she asked

 _Carousel_ slightly expressed amusement because her concealment actually worked… _Carousel_ then slowly said… -"Yes... I'm worried about him..." she said with a smile

 _Rachael_ was then looking very baffled. -"I don't get it... now you're smiling?"

-"Enough about me already..." said _Carousel_ -"What did you want to tell me about Dimitris?"

 _Rachael_ paused for awhile to assess the situation, but she soon just let it go and said… -"I just met up with Dimitris and he asked me to tell you that he wants to see you at the..." As _Rachael_ partially covered her mouth with her hand and whispered… -"Research Area... well, I just figured that out myself because Dimitris told me that he wanted to meet you at a place that you both knew... and when I asked him where exactly is that place...? He answered... – "Your friend Carousel knows exactly where that place is…" _Rachael_ intriguingly said to _Carousel_ as her eyebrows were pulled up and her eyes widened…

-"Yes... you're right, that is in fact the research laboratory that he is referring to... but why would he want to see me there?" _Carousel_ asked as she looked at _Rachael_

-"I don't know." replied _Rachael_ -"Why asked me…? But at least I could come with you, and see what that water creature actually looks like."

-"Okay, let's go!" said _Carousel_ as she was looking a bit anxious of the situation, and totally forgetting about the incident that she had with _Emoreh_... then they quickly went into the secret research area of the academy where _Dimitris_ said that he was to wait for them near the entrance... but they both didn't see _Dimitris_ there.

-"Carousel... Are you sure this is the place? Because I think we're lost." Asked _Rachael_ as they were both going round in circles trying to find where the entrance to that secret room.

-"Yes, I'm sure... this is the place that leads to that research area, but now... I'm not quite certain where that entrance is..." _Carousel_ said as she was examining the walls... the walls are all the same, they are all printed with geometric patterns... _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ couldn't tell the difference between the walls and the doors.

-"Dimitris told me that he will wait for you at the entrance... but where is he?" asked _Rachael_ -"I couldn't see him... I've looked everywhere…"

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ looked for _Dimitris_ and waited for a moment... until... they heard someone was coming... and it was _Dimitris_ …

-"You girls are quick... I'm sorry if I have kept you both waiting too long; I just needed to call on Demeon on the telephone to tell him what had happened to the water creature you and Faust had captured." Said _Dimitris_ to _Carousel_

-"Why…? What happened to the water creature?" asked _Carousel_ looking very concern

-"Come, quick…" _Dimitris_ told _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ , he was very wary of their surroundings... because he didn't want anybody to see them at that place. -"Follow me…" he said as he led them to one of the familiar walls on that place... and he pressed a series of keys on that wall and then suddenly that wall's geometric pattern slowly disappeared... and it quickly opened, revealing the secret research laboratory of the academy…

-"I told you, this was the place." Said _Carousel_ to _Rachael_ as they both went inside, _Dimitris_ then quickly locked it so that nobody will get in. He didn't even care if _Rachael_ was inside the research laboratory because his mind was preoccupied by the water creature…

-"I don't know what happened to the water creature." Said _Dimitris_ as he led them to the container where the water creature was being held captive.

-"Oh my..." _Carousel_ mumbled to herself when she saw the empty container.

-"I went here this morning, to take a look at this water creature and I was surprised to see this." _Dimitris_ said, as he showed them an empty container and there seems to be a portion of water scattered inside it.

-"Could that be the water creature?" asked _Rachael_ upon seeing portions of scattered waters inside the tank container.

-"Could be..." replied _Carousel_ -"That water creature couldn't possibly have escaped this container." She said as she was examining the thickness of the transparent container, her eyes narrowed… -"And besides... we didn't put any water in this container yesterday, so these strewn droplets of water could be the water creature." _Carousel_ concluded and she was looking so bleak. -"But what could be the reason why this thing happened to that water creature? Is it because we didn't put any water in this container? And that's why it literally turned into water?"

-"Maybe…" replied _Dimitris_ -"We thought that it could also be an air breathing creature but... obviously we were wrong. That water creature was just meant to live in waters."

-"But... we all saw how that water creature was so adaptive to the air atmosphere... it was even moving as if it was still in the waters... but only much better. There wasn't a sign that it was in fact struggling, and it seems that – that water creature was so comfortable in its new found environment." _Carousel_ pointed out

-"It's too bad I didn't even get to see it." Said _Rachael_

-"Well... that's the only reason we can think of why that water creature literally turned into water." Said _Dimitris_

-"But is there a chance that you could still get and capture one?" asked _Rachael_

-"I don't know... that creature is so rare and we're lucky to have ever found one at 'Lake Midgar' I don't know if we could ever find another one."

-"But maybe there's still another one that is still living in that lake…"

-"Yes... Rachael might be right; perhaps there is still a water creature that is living in that lake, it's impossible for it to be just living alone in that murky lake. Why don't you go and look for another one." Said _Dimitris_

-"What?" replied _Carousel_ -"But we just did, and it's just too bad that the splitters in this academy didn't get the chance to see it."

-"But I just want you to check on that lake, to see if there is still a water creature living in that lake." Said _Dimitris_ -"You and your friend could go and check on it."

-"Yes, let's go see if there is still one." _Rachael_ cried

-"No…!" _Carousel_ strongly replied -"I will never go back to that place again! That place is dangerous, we even got attacked by a soul stealer remember?"

-"Oh, yes... I... I do remember." _Rachael_ softly replied

-"But I'm afraid we can't consider that you and Faust had captured one... because the trainees in this academy would be asking where that water creature is, and if we can't show them anything, then they wouldn't believe that you and Faust did actually manage to capture one." Said _Dimitris_

-"I understand..." as _Carousel_ tries to think… "But is there a… a some kind of a surveillance camera installed in here somewhere so we could at least see how that water creature has turned into this kind of water, and at least we could show them that we did in fact captured one."

-"I already checked on that... and coincidentally the surveillance camera that is installed in this room was not properly working last night." Said _Dimitris_

-"I thought this room was so well secluded and guarded... how come the surveillance camera didn't work last night? Why of all time did it not work last night... and now?"

-"Well... now, it's perfectly working."

-"Hmm... I feel like there's something going on in here." _Carousel_ thought to herself

-"I know what you're thinking…" said _Dimitris_ as he was looking at _Carousel_. -"But I assure you, that there is absolutely nobody from this academy, who can enter this room without knowing the right keys of combinations to unlock the door except me and Demeon." Explained _Dimitris_

 _Carousel's_ eyes slowly narrowed while looking at _Dimitris_.

-"Now... now, that's not fair to think of me as the culprit of this incident... I didn't do anything to that water creature." Said _Dimitris_ defensively

-"Why are you so defensive? I didn't say anything about you being the culprit."

-"Yes... you didn't say anything but your mind is saying it, I can read you." Said _Dimitris_

 _Carousel_ sighed heavily as she tries to think what might have really happened to the water creature. -"I better tell this to Faust." She said

-"Now?" asked _Dimitris_

-"Yes…"

-"But... you can't…"

-"Why…?"

-"Because the school's competition will about to start in a few minutes... and you are to take part of it."

-"But I thought that... we would still have to talk about it first, I didn't expect for it to start right away, this soon... I'm not even prepared."

-"You've encountered two soul stealers!" as _Dimitris_ pointed out. -"So don't expect me to believe that you are not prepared at all."

-"And yes, about those soul stealers..." As _Carousel_ abruptly remembered… -"Why did you tell Emoreh that those creatures do not exist? Are you trying to conceal those beasts? Or you probably know something that you are not telling us?" asked _Carousel_ as she was staring fiercely at _Dimitris_ –"Are you one of them?" she asked as the tone of her voice was sturdy… and her eyes narrowed

-"Hahaha…" _Dimitris_ laughed at _Carousel's_ predicament –"How dare you say such a thing? Do I look like one of them?" He asked…

 _Carousel's_ eyes slowly looked down, from looking at _Dimitris'_ … -"No…" she answered as she slightly rolled her eyes…

-"See… I thought Demeon had already enlightened you about these matters?"

-"He did tell me, what might be the possible consequences if the people of Eris would know about those soul stealers, but I wouldn't consider the term – enlightened, because I wasn't."

 _Dimitris_ raised his left eyebrow and said… -"Well... let's just get out of here, the competition is about to start." His voice was nasally and annoying as usual.

-"But... Dimitris... you do believe me right? That those soul stealers actually do exist?"

-"I don't know... because I have never actually seen one." he replied

 _Rachael_ then rolled her eyes… -"Carousel, let's just go!" she cried

-"I don't know... because I haven't seen one yet…" _Dimitris_ concluded

 _Carousel_ then slowly looked into _Rachael's_ eyes and she tried talking to her in her mind… -"Rachael, nod if you can read my mind…" she said in her mind as she was looking into _Rachael's_ eyes.

 _Rachael_ then slightly rolled her eyes... she wanted to say… -"Of course…" but she just did what _Carousel_ wanted her to do, and she slightly nodded.

As the three of them were walking out of the research laboratory, _Carousel_ was anxiously looking at _Rachael_ and she was telling her in her mind that; she doesn't believe that the water creature just melted and just turned into water... she wants to know more about what exactly had happened to the water creature because _Dimitris_ doesn't seem to care about it too much.

 _Rachael_ then pulled her eyebrows up and she widened her eyes, to signify the question… -"What do you want me to do…?"

 _Carousel_ then spoke to her in her mind and said… -"Rachael, I'm going to go out from this room first... I will tell Dimitris that I have to prepare myself first for the competition, but the truth is... I will just hide from one of the pillars outside, and when he is about to lock this door... I want you to divert him from looking at the door... keep him entertained while he is pressing the keys to lock the door, so I can rush back in here."

 _Rachael_ wanted to ask _Carousel_ the question: -"How will you manage to get out from this room once you've got in?" But _Carousel_ doesn't have the skill to read her mind and before she knew it... _Carousel_ was telling them… -"I have to go; I have to prepare myself while there is still time for me to practice!" She cried as she didn't even look at _Dimitris_ while she swiftly went out from the research area, leaving _Rachael_ in total panic…

-"I wonder what talents Carousel would show to her fellow splitters." Said _Dimitris_ -"She better prepare herself because she doesn't have any idea what kind of a challenge is actually waiting for her…" said _Dimitris_ in an intriguing tone.

-"What do you mean?" asked _Rachael_ as she was looking very anxious at _Dimitris_

-"Well... you know…"

-"No..." _Rachael_ prolonged her voice… -"I don't know…"

-"Well... don't worry, just wait because you will soon know."

 _Rachael_ narrowed her eyes and glanced at the pillars outside the entrance of the research area... and then she saw _Carousel_ hiding from one of the pillars and she was making an eye contact with her.

-"Rachael, I'm going to try to run as fast as I can back to that room so try not to make Dimitris look back at the door." She said to _Rachael_ in her mind

-"Is there anything wrong?" _Dimitris_ asked _Rachael_ as he looked around and started to press the combination keys on the wall for the door to close. _Carousel_ ducked in quickly when she saw that _Dimitris_ was looking around to see what _Rachael_ was looking at.

-"Nothing…!" _Rachael_ abruptly replied as she softly touched _Dimitris'_ cheek and slowly maneuvering his face towards hers, and _Rachael_ enticingly asked him… -"Do you need... a partner in life _Dimitris_? Because... I can see that you need one." She slowly said with a bit of provocation. _Dimitris_ was taken aback…

 _Carousel_ then decided to make use of that moment and she hastily went back inside the research area in a split second before the door even closed. _Carousel_ heavily sighed as she got in safely without _Dimitris_ even knowing that she had made it back inside the research laboratory once again.

 _Dimitris'_ eyes narrowed as he tried to look back at the door because he had felt a slight disturbance before the door even closed, but _Rachael_ firmly held his chin preventing him to look back.

-"I need an answer..." said _Rachael_ as she tried to sound beguiling.

 _Dimitris_ raised his one eyebrow and he slowly and with inclemency said… -"Get... your hand, off... of my face!" His nasally voice sounded more annoying than usual. -"It only shows how poor your mind reading ability is, because you can't truly see what I really want." _Dimitris_ said as he gave _Rachael_ a meaningful stare as if he was telling her that she was nowhere his type. _Dimitris_ tapped _Rachael's_ hand as he turned around with a grunt that _Rachael_ even heard when he walked away.

-"Eeewww..." _Rachael_ thought to herself as she had an idea what _Dimitris_ was trying to tell her. Her face was filled with disgust… -"As if I was really being serious with you to begin with." She said to herself as she slowly went to examine the door that locked, so to have a word with _Carousel_ … -"Carousel can you hear me?" _Rachael_ softly asked as she quietly knocked at the door.

-"..." But there was no reply from _Carousel_.

-"She probably can't hear me; considering the thickness of this wall, I'll just stay here in case she needs me." _Rachael_ thought to herself.

But then _Dimitris_ cried… -"And what exactly are you still doing there?" _Dimitris_ interrupted as he took a quick look back at _Rachael_. -"Get away from there! Someone might see you there... then they might have an idea what is in those walls and that won't be a secret place anymore!"

-"Yes, I ... I... was just about to go." Replied _Rachael_ with a pretentious smile... and _Dimitris_ rolled his eyes as his usual reaction. _Rachael_ felt anxious about _Carousel_ at the same time sickened about _Dimitris_ as she walked away.

In the meantime, when _Carousel_ went back into the secret research laboratory, she immediately went to look where the water creature was contained, the container was unmoved and there seems to be no signs of intrusion, but _Carousel_ still started digging up some clues that may shed light to why the water creature just turned into water or... if those droplets of water that are inside the container... are in fact the water creature itself.

 _Carousel_ tried operating the surveillance camera that was surveying the container where the water creature was at... but _Dimitris_ was right... it did not recorded anything about yesterday and _Carousel_ was still persistent on finding some clues... until she found out that, not only does the container with the water creature in it that was being surveyed but... the entire academy was in fact being surveyed.

-"I never thought that there were surveillance cameras that are hidden all over the campus's perimeters... but why do they need to?" _Carousel_ asked herself as she was looking at the projectors.

The projected images were in 'Three Dimensional' images, giving _Carousel_ a better view of the scene. Then she tried clicking the '3D' images... in her surprise the images were zoomed in, giving the '3D' images a larger picture of the scene.

-"Amazing… this surveillance thing, this might be the thing that Demeon was talking about, that even though Dimitris is not around doesn't mean that he can't tell who amongst the splitters are improving… that is why he was able to observe us… " _Carousel_ thought to herself upon doing so... as she tried looking somewhere else to find clues about the water creature's outcome.

-"There isn't anything in here that I can find useful." _Carousel_ said to herself as she was abruptly intrigued by the egg shaped compartment that caught her attention on the side of her eyes. _Carousel_ walked towards the egg shaped stall that is suspended at the center of the room and tries to examine it... she begins by softly touching the shiny exterior of the compartment... and then it triggered something... _Carousel_ was alarmed by the shrieking sound it suddenly made and she quickly took her hands off. And then the egg shaped compartment slowly opened like a blossomed flower... revealing a comfortable seat in the inside…

-"Hmm... What do we have here?" _Carousel_ thought to her self... as she went in to look and see what it is... and then she decided to try and take a seat inside the egg shaped compartment. She was reluctant to take a seat at first... she was preparing herself to jump off in case something bad might happen. But as she was seated... the egg shaped compartment begins to slowly enclose in and mechanical wires started coming out from the armrest of the seat and began wrapping within the tip of her fingers. _Carousel_ was a bit anxious to see what will happen next; and as the egg shaped compartment closes in, _Carousel_ couldn't see anything... because it was so dark inside... and moments later, specks of lights starts to appear around her, at first she thought that those were souls that she was seeing, but moments later... she figured that those aren't souls, those were the representation of stars. Stars that are floating on infinite darkness, _Carousel_ was amazed of what she had seen, she was inside an egg shaped container... a compartment that looks ordinary from the outside but it looks as if she was floating in outer space from the inside... she could see the different stars... the different planets... the different galaxies... all the different heavenly bodies you could possibly see in the universe. _Carousel_ wondered why her fingers were suddenly wrapped with mechanical wires, so she started moving her fingers, but as soon as she moved them... the scene from the inside started to twirl, spinning rapidly making her feel very dizzy so she figured that she should just move her fingers slowly... she then slowly waved her hand to the left, and the scene moved to the left... she slowly waved her hand to the right, and then the scene moved to the right. It was like a touch screen feeling, where everything she touches and every movement her fingers make... there's an equal reaction. _Carousel_ sat there and tried to maneuver her way... but she soon wobbled in frustration.

-"Oh..." She cried in frustration… -"What is this?"

Then an automatic answering voice machine answered her. -"This is a 'workstation cell' where everything you want to know can be answered."

-"Really…?"

-"Affirmative..."

-"Okay, let me think..." said _Carousel_ as she was preparing for her first question…

-"That is not a question." The machine abruptly replied

-"I know…" _Carousel_ thought to herself… as she soon followed it by a real question… _Carousel_ looked around and asked… -"Where is this place?"

-"What you are looking now, is the outer part of our world – 'the outer space' – as you can see; that star in the center... is our star – 'Asterie' and the two planets revolving around it are – 'Eris' – our world which revolves nearer to the 'Asterie' and the planet located at the outer part is 'Iris' a planet so near to us but inhabitants from here can't even cope to travel to that planet." Answered the voice machine…

-"So there's a planet outside this world…?" _Carousel_ asked herself… -"Why? Why can't we go there?" Asked she

-"Because millions of asteroids are revolving around our planet, it coats our world like a protective shield that prevents anything from entering our planet... but, which it also makes it impossible and dangerous for every Erishan from this planet, even with a vessel to go out and venture out there…"

-"So that's what they are... asteroids…" _Carousel_ thought -"Before, I couldn't tell them apart from those dark clouds at the skies but I always thought that those things... looks different, I knew they weren't clouds, but now I know." _Carousel_ thought to herself…

-"Where did those millions of asteroids come from…?"

-"Thousands of years ago... planet Eris had two moons that is revolving around it but... those moons suddenly collided with each other and exploded for an unknown and unexplained reason... and it's remains are now the millions of asteroids that are encircling our planet."

-"And... What is that... thing?" _Carousel_ asked as she pointed out with her finger a huge circular black thing that seems to be moving around through the vast space.

-"That is what you call… a 'Dark Spiral'... it devours everything on its path." The machine replied…

-"Everything?" she mumbled as she felt a little bit scared and before she got used to those information... she remembered the reason why she went to that room in the first place…

-"Tell me about... water creatures?" _Carousel_ asked

-"Water Creatures..." said the voice machine, then it was searching for an answer… the scene inside the egg shaped workstation cell then changed from an outer space scene to a watery scene… -"There are millions of water creatures in this planet... which one?" It asked as it was flashing pictures of different kinds of water creatures.

-"No, no, no..." _Carousel_ repeatedly said as she was looking at those pictures being flashed and projected in front of her. -"No, I don't see it in any of those pictures" She said as she paused for awhile… -"Those water creatures are believed to be immortals... they are believed to be eternal, so… did any of my description made any help to you?" Asked _Carousel_

-"Are you pertaining to this water creature?" The machine asked as it showed _Carousel_ the right kind of water creature she was talking about… which was a 'tear' shaped bubble-like creature…

-"Yes…!" _Carousel_ cried upon seeing the picture… -"That's it! What do you call that?"

-"This is an 'embloig' believed to be first discovered by Dr. Mario Tolluca some twenty seven years ago." The machine answered as it showed _Carousel_ a bigger picture of it.

-"Tell me all the information you know about that embloig." Said _Carousel_

But then... a sudden turbulence distracted it from answering back and _Carousel_ panicked when she felt the sudden disturbance and cried… -"Let me out!" so the machine let her out instantly and _Carousel_ immediately jumped out of that egg shaped stall. -"What was that?" _Carousel_ asked herself as she saw the '3D' images in the room... were also being disrupted. And then something caught the corner of her eye and she quickly turned her head to see what it is, _Carousel's_ eyes widened as she saw... -"Emery?" she cried in surprise as she saw _Emery_ in there. -"Why are you here? How did you get in here?" were the first questions that came out from _Carousel's_ mouth as she saw _Emery_ who was standing before her.

-"The competition... is about to start." _Emery_ slowly and softly replied, her lips barely moved.

-"That's the reason why you're here? ... Just so you could tell me that?" asked _Carousel,_

 _Emery_ slightly nodded.

 _Carousel_ could feel the cold stare _Emery_ is giving her but she felt that it should be her, who should have the right to feel cold towards _Emery_. -"I don't get it... why does she have the guts to stare at me like that?" _Carousel_ thought to herself… -"How did you get in here?" she asked -"How did you know I was here?" _Carousel_ looked confused…

-"..." _Emery_ did not answer instead she slowly looked at the door signifying that she wants _Carousel_ out of the room immediately. But _Carousel_ wasn't moved.

-"You don't want Dimitris to know about this, do you?" _Emery_ asked

 _Carousel_ slowly narrowed her eyes and heavily sighed. -"Okay, I'm going…" she said as the two of them walked out of the room. -"Emery, please don't tell this to Dimitris... I just wanted to know what exactly happened to that 'embloig' that we had captured. Because it's not just it was so hard to capture one, but it was also rare to find one and I don't know if we could ever see another one... and it just so happened that we were lucky to find one at Lake Midgar."

-"Don't worry... I won't…" _Emery_ slowly replied

-"Thank you..." _Carousel_ said with a relief, as she looked at _Emery_ but... _Emery's_ eyes were fixed to the ground as usual. -"Have you seen an 'embloig' before? They said that it is an immortal creature." Asked _Carousel_

-"..." _Emery_ did not reply and she just continued walking...

-"The alchemists in our academy have studied that those creatures goes through a certain transition in their lives, that's why they don't die, and they believe that it may hold to unlocking the secrets of immortality... I wonder what it feels like... to be an immortal. To not experience death at all, I think that it would be nice. I mean, those creatures have achieved the ultimate success in life... which is to be able to live forever." _Carousel_ continued talking even though _Emery_ doesn't seem to be listening.

-"... But... do you really want to live forever…? Even... if, you are in that kind of state…?" _Emery_ asked, as she finally decided to talk.

-"What do you mean? I have seen an 'embloig' and it doesn't seem to be in a miserable state... and I do think that it is actually quite enjoying its natural state in life." _Carousel_ added

-"But are you sure that - that 'embloig' sees it the way you perceived it to be?"

 _Carousel_ slightly shook her head; she doesn't seem to understand what _Emery_ meant… so she slowly asked… -"Why…? Is there anything wrong with their actual state in life?"

-"You've seen one, but you don't seem to see the real..." said _Emery_ as she suddenly stopped talking… she slowly looked down again.

-"The real... what…?" _Carousel_ asked impatiently

-"The real… consequences those creatures are facing."

-"I... I... don't get what you mean by that."

-"Like you said, those creatures have achieved the ultimate success in life which is to be able to live forever but... in order to gain something you must also lose something, that is the law of nature, and if that creature had gained everything... then it also has to lose everything, meaning… if it has achieved the ultimate success then it must also endure the ultimate failure." _Emery's_ voice was so soft that it can barely be heard.

-"Which is?" asked _Carousel_

-"To not… be able to think…"

-"To not be able to think…? You mean those creatures can't think?"

-"Yes…"

-"And if so... how did that became the ultimate failure?"

-"For a living thing to be living and not to be able to think, then that living thing is as good as a lifeless thing."

-"I'm... I'm finding it hard to understand." Said _Carousel_ -"If an embloig cannot think for itself then how did it manage to avoid our capturing? For a living thing to be living and for it not to be able to think, I really don't get it why did that become the ultimate failure?"

 _Emery_ slightly lifted her chin up, from always looking down as she slowly looked at _Carousel_ … -"No... You don't…" said _Emery_

 _Carousel_ thought… -"Can she read minds too?" she asked herself, while she didn't become aware that they were already out of the secret research area. _Carousel_ just noticed that they were heading to where the competition was being held. At the center ground of the academy, _Carousel_ looked at _Emery_ with bewilderment while _Emery's_ eyes remained fixed on the ground, the sound of _Emery's_ long garments being dragged on the floor while she was walking is the only sound that can be heard, for it suddenly became very silent... because they both didn't want to continue conversing with each other anymore.

Chapter Fourteen "Mischief"

 _Carousel_ and _Emery_ then walked into the arena; the stage was set for the chosen splitters to show off their talents. _Carousel_ looked around to see who amongst her fellow splitters were chosen to enter the competition... and there were just a handful of them... including _Rachael_ and _Emery_.

-"I'm glad you made it here on time…" _Rachael_ whispered… -"I thought you wouldn't make it."

 _Carousel_ slightly nodded her head towards _Emery_ while giving her an indicative stare and _Rachael_ soon figured it out.

-"So, Emery knows that place too?" _Rachael_ whispered as she asked

-"Obviously…" _Carousel_ replied as she saw _Demeon_ from afar, who just arrived, was now sitting at the upper box of the stadium together with _Dimitris_ and they were inspecting for unnecessary ordeals. Moments later each of the candidates were sent into their respective starting positions, they were asked to enter into a maze like challenge separately from one another, each of them were positioned in each sides of the labyrinth, they were asked to encircle it... each being way apart from one another. They were put into a maze that they don't know where the exit is, except that they were being watched by their fellow 'splitters' from above the stadium.

-"The first three 'splitters' to make it to the center of the maze are the ones who will be subjected to proceed to enter to the next challenge." Said the host of the competition…

 _Carousel_ looked around and saw _Emoreh_ from one of the splitters from above who are watching the competition; _Emoreh_ seems to be talking to a candidate from below.

-"He must be talking to Emery right now... telling her the way out of this maze." _Carousel_ thought to herself.

The host of the competition who was also a shaman at the academy then started the count down...

-"This is your time… to show off your talents…! 4… 3… 2… and 1! Go!" cried the host of the competition…

And a loud horn was blown, indicating that the competition had begun and the candidates scrambled to find their own way out of that maze... which is at the center of the maze. As the candidates preceded… the walls of the maze started to change... the walls begins to move.

-"What's going on here…?" _Carousel_ asked herself as the walls begins to move from left to right... from front to back. But _Carousel_ was quick to dodge every blow of the moving walls.

-"This is misleading…" _Carousel_ thought… -"How can I find the center of this maze if the walls keep moving...? I've got to figure the way out of this maze, I can't keep this up for long." She told herself as she was still dodging the heavy blows the walls makes each time it moves. -"I wonder how Rachael is doing; I hope she gets out of this." _Carousel_ thought to herself feeling very worried for _Rachael_.

-"A splitter was caught between the walls... he is now disqualified!" cried the host…

 _Carousel_ looked up to take a quick glance at the top, to where the splitters were seated to see if they were looking at the splitter who was just disqualified, and they seem to be looking at where _Rachael's_ position was.

-"I'm sure that it was a 'he' that the host announced, so I guess I shouldn't worry." Said _Carousel_ as she tries to peek who it was by jumping as high as she can possibly jump but the walls were just too high. -"I guess I should just worry about myself because there is really nothing that I can do for them." She thought -"There must be a pattern for these walls in their manner of movement... because they can't possibly be moving at a similar direction at once because that will reveal the core of this labyrinth... I wonder who is controlling these walls…?" _Carousel_ asked herself as she scans her surroundings and the

Erishans who are watching them from up above. To see if there are who she suspects they are. But there wasn't anybody from the crowd whom she can identify... and instead she saw _Dimitris_ and _Demeon_ who were vigorously looking at her, so the pressure builds up for her.

-"I think we are going to have our very first candidate to walk into the center." The host declared. As the crowd wooed in, some of them were softly saying the name – ' _Emery?_ ' but _Carousel_ could hear them clearly.

 _Carousel_ was eager to know who it was because she wasn't sure if it was really _Emery_ who was about to reach the core first… as _Carousel_ just kept finding her way out of that maze... she quickly moved from one place to another, but it just led her to another... after another... dead end.

-"Oh…!" _Carousel_ cried -"How can I get out of here?" she asked herself sounding very frustrated.

The walls were constantly and rapidly moving up and down, from left to right and suddenly a wall came out from nowhere and it almost hit _Carousel_ on her body, luckily she managed to dodge it, her body seems to momentarily have split into two... the one being hit by the wall and the other one who dodged the wall, _Carousel_ was surprised to see that she had discovered a hidden talent of hers. -"Is this what Demeon was talking about?" _Carousel_ asked herself… -"Then I still have a lot of hidden skills to crack after all." She said to herself as she saw _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_ at the upper box smiling at her.

But as the walls were moving, she noticed _Emery_ was fast approaching the core of the labyrinth.

-"So, it is her…" _Carousel_ thought to her self... so she tried to focus on _Emery_ but _Carousel_ couldn't follow her because the walls around her were constantly moving so she tried focusing again, but this time her focus were on the moving walls...

 _Carousel_ managed to see through _Emery_ despite the swift movements of the walls. The walls movement became slower in _Carousel's_ perspective.

-"But now at least, I know where the core is... thanks to you Emery." _Carousel_ mumbled to herself. -"I hope that what I'm doing is not cheating. I can't blame myself if I have such good eyesight." She added as she now started to focus on the walls. _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes for her to have a better view of the moving walls... then as she closes in, the walls moved slower and slower in her own perspective as if she had the power to freeze time... but it was just because _Carousel_ had capitalized on her quick reflexes that's why everyone and everything around her seems to move very slowly. _Carousel_ was now nearing into _Emery_... _Carousel_ followed her because she knew that she was the one whom the host of the competition was referring to. _Emery_... who's without any effort, was fast approaching the core, she looked flawless in avoiding those moving walls as if those walls were the ones that are avoiding her. Her decision making was also superb, making no mistakes about the routes she was taking. _Carousel_ tried to outrun _Emery_ to the core but _Emery_ was too close to the center of the labyrinth to be outrun by _Carousel_.

-"Emery reached the core first!" The announcer announced as _Emery_ entered a concrete door at the center of the maze… -"And I can see... Carousel coming…" the host shouted… -"Emery is followed by Carousel…" he concluded, as _Carousel_ was now closing in to _Emery_ but she was anxious to enter through the door because she wasn't sure where that door might lead her to. -"And… the last but not the least 'splitter' to proceed is... " the announcer cried but he did not know the name of that splitter who is now fast approaching for the third place…

-"Rachael…" cried _Rachael_ to the announcer and so the announcer proclaimed her name… -"Rachael is the last to proceed…" announced the host… -"Now we have our three candidates who have successfully passed their first obstacle… Emery, Carousel and Rachael… now… this maze will now rest." Said the shaman host, and the moving walls of the labyrinth were then put to a sudden stop... some of the candidates were stuck between the walls but nobody was seriously injured and some candidates didn't even moved a step from their starting positions, they were just standing there from the very beginning up till the end of the first obstacle... they were too scared to even try to move. -"This first round is finished." The shaman host declared.

-"Rachael I'm glad you made it!" cried _Carousel_ upon seeing her best friend made it to the second round with her. -"I didn't see you coming... but then you suddenly just came out from nowhere."

-"I was just behind you…! No time to chat... let's just go!" _Rachael_ cried as she strode _Carousel_ into the door of the core. -"The door is closing! Let's hurry!" she cried. As they both hurriedly went into the concrete door... and inside it was a staircase that leads down to a dark and unfamiliar territory. The door then automatically closed as soon as they went inside.

-"Now... spectators of the academy... this is as far as the first round of the competition goes, and I'm afraid we cannot let you see the second round of this competition because it is being held right under where I am standing." The announcer explained and the crowd started to babble. -"Yes, yes, yes... calm down, all of you... I know, I mean I don't know..." The host quickly corrected himself… -"I don't know what kind of obstacle they are being put into right now, because like I said... the second round of this competition is being held right under this place." The host gestured by opening up his arms… -"And we will just have to wait and see who amongst those three 'splitters' will go out from that door and emerge victorious of this competition." Cried the shaman host as he pointed to the crowd a pyramid door shaped like structure located at the top side part of the arena. And he glanced at the box where _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_ were seated because he was unsure of what he had just said... but _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_ were now… nowhere to be found…

Meanwhile... _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ were walking down the staircase. It was dark and dusty inside that underground maze and only a few torches were lit along the walls.

-"What kind of a silly obstacle did they put us into now?" asked _Rachael_ -"What do these silly obstacles have to do to enhance our skills?" She added

 _Carousel_ slightly smiled but she was obviously fighting back her fears. -"I wonder where Emery could have gone. She was the first one to enter." Said _Carousel_ … -"Emery...! Emery... can you hear me? Where are you?" Cried _Carousel_ , she was calling for _Emery_

-"She's probably on her way now to winning this competition, so if you could just keep quiet and stop calling her name and instead you could start helping me to figure out our way out of here..." said _Rachael_

-"Okay... okay…" replied _Carousel_ as she starts to figure out their way out of there.

The paths were too narrow for them to walk side by side, so they walked along each other and _Rachael_ being at the front.

-"Rachael, could you please walk faster... Emery's goanna win this competition if you keep walking like this." Said _Carousel_

-"But I can't clearly see where we're heading." Replied _Rachael_

-"Okay, just let me take the lead then, at least I could see our way better than you do." Said _Carousel_ -"I think they have put us into a maze again... look... the paths interlock each other again." _Carousel_ said as she illuminated the place along their way with the torch she was holding so _Rachael_ could also see.

-"What?" asked _Rachael_ in dismay -"Another maze? Don't tell me that these walls are about to move again." She said upon seeing the labyrinth that _Carousel_ had shown her.

-"No, I think this time... these walls will not be moving."

-"What makes you think so?"

-"I can't feel the mechanisms inside these walls." _Carousel_ said as she was slowly running the tip of her fingers through the walls... she was touching the walls to feel if there were any disturbances of machineries that she can feel inside.

-"Are you sure?"

-"Yes, because these walls are different from the walls that I have examined from the ones at the above."

-"Now… that these walls are not moving, I guess there is nothing for me to worry about." Said _Rachael_ -"Carousel... I think we should split, because that would give us a better chance of finding our way out of here."

-"I think you're right…! Just call me when you find it okay?" replied _Carousel_ as they both headed on an opposite direction with torches lit on their hands which they took from the ones that are hanged on the walls.

 _Carousel_ then quickly checked every area that she had come across... examining the walls for any signs of an outlet.

-"I don't know what this competition is all about... but I want to beat Emery here, at least then I could get even with her... so I better find my way out of here quick before she does." _Carousel_ thought to herself as she was flipping the torch in her hand to look for her way out, and suddenly one flip of the torch on the side revealed _Emery's_ face… she was looking at her… -"Emery! You scared me!" _Carousel_ cried as she was surprised to see Emery there… standing in front of her… -"But I'm glad to see that you haven't made it yet... I mean..." Said _Carousel_ as she tries to clear her throat… -"So... I see, you haven't found your way out of here yet?" _Carousel_ mockingly asked but _Emery_ was soft spoken as usual…

-"And I can see that you have grown stronger than before... don't forget your purpose." Said _Emery_ , her voice was very calm as usual.

-"Excuse me…?" asked _Carousel_ as her voice hit a higher note at the end. "Did she just read my mind…?" _Carousel_ asked herself

Then suddenly, _Carousel_ heard _Rachael's_ voice…

-"Carousel…!" _Rachael_ cried

 _Carousel_ was keen to hear _Rachael's_ voice… -"I'm coming…!" _Carousel_ shouted -"I think Rachael has found the way out, but if only she could just lower her voice down... Emery might hear her and she might follow us out of here." _Carousel_ thought to herself.

-"I suppose, you don't need my help anymore." _Emery_ softly said as she also heard _Rachael's_ call.

 _Carousel_ nodded and replied… "Of course… why would I need your help…? I never needed your help. I guess you can clearly take things right." _Carousel_ sounded somewhat appreciative as she quickly rushed to follow _Rachael's_ voice. –"Maybe, Emery knew that I was following her when she involuntarily led me into this second part of the competition." _Carousel_ mumbled to herself.

-"Carousel…!" _Rachael_ continued calling her, _Rachael's_ voice was now even louder than her first call.

 _Carousel_ followed where _Rachael's_ voice was coming from, she was running and rushing consequently fast so as not to give _Emery_ a hint where that place is, because she might by chance lead her out of there... and as _Carousel_ was nearing to where _Rachael_ was, _Carousel_ exuberantly said… -"Rachael, I heard you loud and clear, you don't need to keep yelling and keep calling my name because Emery might..." _Carousel_ immediately came to a standstill from her hasty fleet; she was suddenly speechless and she couldn't continue what she was saying, she was taken aback, her eyes widened as she was stunned to see _Rachael_ and... ' _Conscience_ ' again…

-"Rachael..." _Carousel_ called, her voice nearly fainted as she saw _Rachael_ , who was slowly being cornered by _Conscience_ at one of the sides of the maze, so _Carousel_ threw the torch she was holding straight at _Conscience_. -"Get away from her!" _Carousel_ cried

-"You again?" replied _Conscience_ as he slowly faced _Carousel_ , _Conscience_ was hit by _Carousel's_ torch at his back, but he doesn't seem to bear the pain... as if he was only hit by a child.

-"I should be asking you the same... what are you doing here?" asked _Carousel_ as she was fighting the fear she was feeling.

-"Don't mind my interfering, but... do you two know each other?" asked _Rachael_ as she sounded very confused and it seems as if there isn't a bit of fear she was feeling.

-"That is the soul stealer that I told you about... remember... the one that Faust and I have encountered at Lake Midgar." Said _Carousel_

-"Oh, now I remember..." _Rachael_ replied

 _Conscience_ snarled and said… -"Now let's see if both of you could still remember me once I get to suck on your souls."

-"Rachael!" cried _Carousel_ as she immediately took her by the arm. And they immediately started to run.

-"Is this the challenge Dimitris was talking about? Because... this sure is... unexpected…!" _Rachael_ cried as they were franticly running.

-"What…?" asked _Carousel_

-"When you left the research lab, Dimitris told me that there is a challenge that awaits us, and I have a feeling that this is it…" _Rachael_ explained as they were still running away from _Conscience_. _Carousel_ was feeling confused as she leads _Rachael_ through the perplex course of the underground maze.

-"There is absolutely no way out of here." Said _Conscience_ , his voice was very deep as he tried to seize them.

Meanwhile… _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_ were hiding in one of the hidden corners of the labyrinth waiting for what will happen next; they were there to observe _Carousel_ whilst they didn't pay much attention to _Rachael_ and _Emery_.

-"Do you think 'Conscience' can provoke her into unleashing her hidden skill?" asked _Dimitris_

-"Let's wait and see..." replied _Demeon_

-"But what if... he can't make her to…?"

-"Then I'll be the one to try to do it myself… I've done it before and I can surely do it again…"

-"Well... Carousel's soul better be worth it."

-"Oh, I assure you it is... but don't even dare to try and get close to that soul of hers once she unleashes it because her soul belongs only to me."

-"Don't worry I won't, because from the looks of it Carousel won't be unleashing her soul today, look... they're getting away!" said _Dimitris_

-"That imbecile... Conscience…!" _Demeon_ cried -"What could she possibly do to him? For him to lose his concentration..." _Demeon_ said to himself as he saw _Conscience_ from a distance being worn down by _Carousel_ and _Rachael_.

-"Then... I guess, now... is the right time for you to do what you have got to do." Said _Dimitris_ in his nasally and very annoying voice…

-"What…?"

-"Well, didn't you say just a while ago that if 'Conscience' can't make it then you will be the one to try to do it yourself?"

-"No, I can't... that would be very risky... because they have already seen me before and if they would see me again right now, then that would be very uncertain especially if they would manage to escape now... which I think is very likely to happen because those two 'splitters' have certainly improved a lot. Now, why don't you go there and help 'Conscience'… they haven't seen your true image yet, and this is the perfect time for you to show them."

-"Hello…?" _Dimitris_ snorted -"As if... they haven't suspected anything suspicious yet… And why me…?" He added

-"Just do what I tell you to do! Now go there and make Carousel unleash her soul, but don't consume it because that's mine, but you can have the other girl's... soul"

 _Dimitris_ rolled his eyes and couldn't do anything but to obey his master, he slowly shape shifted himself to ' _Mischief_ ' and he flew immediately to the scene.

In the meantime, _Conscience_ wasn't worn out like what _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_ have assumed but instead he was floundering on the ground because of guilt. _Conscience's_ eyes were now suddenly turning into a light gray in color.

-"I know who you are..." said _Carousel_ as she was making a wild guess… -"Your name is… Isoah…" she said

And that was the reason why _Conscience_ faltered onto the ground... his claws was deeply gritted into the ground creating cracks unto it.

-"Why did you choose to become a soul stealer…?" _Carousel_ continued asking

-"..." But there was no reply from _Conscience_ but instead he just snarled and continued his strong grip on the ground. He was floundering and his pitch black eyes were now… turning into a light gray in color.

 _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes in array… -"I think he has weakened… But what did I do…?" she thought to herself… -"But whatever it is… I think what I have said is working on him…"

 _Rachael_... then tries to look for their way out…

-"Hmmm... I think I know where our way out of here." _Rachael_ whispered as she saw _Emery_ from a distance.

-"You do? That's great! Where…?" _Carousel_ softly asked while maintaining a constant watch at _Conscience_ who remained unmoved onto the ground.

-"Just follow me…" said _Rachael_

-"Okay… let's get going then…"

 _Rachael_ then hurriedly went to the area where she saw _Emery_ and _Carousel_ quickly followed her from behind.

-"I knew it! Here, I found the door... now help me move this thing." Said _Rachael_

-"But... how did you find this?"

-"I saw Emery in here so I figured she might have found her way out of here already and I was right... she did."

-"This door is too heavy to be moved... as if it was really meant to be like this so as to not let anybody from getting out of here alive."

-"But how did Emery get out from here?"

-"You're right... I guess we should just try harder."

But as _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ were trying to open the heavy concrete door... _Mischief_ hastily flew to the scene where _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ was, unwrapping himself with his pair of huge dark wings as he landed on the ground.

-"And where exactly do you two think you're going?" asked _Mischief_ in a pitchy and very nasally voice. _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then slowly turned around to see who it was as the two had an idea that it wasn't _Conscience_ who just spoke to them because the later had a much deeper and a lower kind of voice.

-"What…? Another soul stealer!" cried _Rachael_ upon seeing _Mischief_ … who was somewhat resembles like _Conscience_ but with a slenderer body and has two horns on his forehead.

-"Who… What are you?" asked _Carousel_ as she slightly stepped back.

 _Mischief_ then looked into their eyes… he couldn't read _Rachael's_ thoughts but he did read _Carousel's_ … he then smirked at them as he found out what the two girls had done to _Conscience_.

-"Will it be of importance to you if I will tell you so..." replied _Mischief_

-"No…!" _Rachael_ abruptly said -"We don't need to know… who or what you are… because you are obviously a monster!"

 _Carousel_ then looked at _Rachael_ with a bit of animosity.

-"What…? ... I'm just telling the truth." _Rachael_ said to _Carousel_

 _Mischief_ then approached the two ladies with annoyance towards them... he then threw _Rachael_ on the wall with one strike of his claw-like hand and he grabbed _Carousel_ by the neck on the other. _Carousel_ struggled to breath, but she couldn't let loose... _Mischief_ was tightly strangling her as he lifted her higher on the ground... _Carousel's_ feet were wobbling on mid air as she tries to kick him with her feet...

-"Unleash your soul and your suffering will be over..." said _Dimitris_

-"What... are you saying…?" said _Carousel_ as her words were trembling as she struggles to let loose, but _Carousel's_ grip on _Mischief's_ hand only makes the strangling on her neck even tighter... _Carousel_ was then about to pass out when a rock hit _Mischief_ on the head and that made him allow _Carousel_ to let loose.

-"Let her go!" cried _Rachael_ as she threw the rock on _Mischief's_ forehead which are scattered all over the place…

 _Carousel_ fell to the ground gasping for air as she tries to clear her throat. She stroke her neck to check if she was injured but her attention was divulge when she felt that her clock necklace was missing, she looked around and saw on the ground that her clock necklace was broken and it's band was also broken down into pieces... the result of _Mischief's_ grabbing her by the neck.

-"Why you little..." _Mischief_ snarled at _Rachael_ as he was about to attack her.

-"Don't come any closer." _Rachael_ said, her tone was somewhat threatening.

-"Or else what…?" _Mischief_ said with a snort

 _Rachael_ slowly stepped back… -"Do you think I'm scared of you? I'm not... you're just a silly looking beast."

-"Really…?" _Mischief_ teasingly said -"And you… what do you think you are…?"

-"I know who you are." _Rachael_ quickly interrupted

-"Oh... really…?" _Mischief_ asked as he rolled his eyes together with his head, his tone hit a higher note at the end. -"And what if you do know who I am?" He continued saying. -"Do you think that it would work on me? Like what your friend did to..." said _Mischief_ as he almost slipped away, he almost gave away _Conscience's_ name to _Rachael_... but he was quick not to, he just slowly glanced back at where _Conscience_ was... -"You pathetic little girl!" cried _Mischief_ as he returned to look back at _Rachael_

-"Don't harm her! It's me you want right?" yelled _Carousel_ to _Mischief_ at his back.

 _Mischief_ then paused from walking towards _Rachael_ and he instead set his attention back at _Carousel_. -"You're right!" cried _Mischief_.

 _Carousel's_ eyes were rapidly moving from left to right... she was trying to figure out what... could she possibly do to stop _Mischief_... before he gets to her.

 _Rachael_ was looking at _Carousel_ who seems to be running out of ideas and she knows that she needed to help her best friend. So _Rachael_ slowly narrowed her eyes and she started focusing on the scattered rocks on the ground... slowly lifting them up with the use of her telekinetic skill... she then started to move the rocks in a circular motion, she spun them round and round getting faster and faster by the minute creating a whirlwind effect... but in doing so, she accidentally killed some of the lighted torches on the wall making it even harder for them to see. And with no hesitation _Rachael_ then threw them all straight at _Mischief_. _Rachael_ and _Carousel_ then instinctively covered their eyes with their hands to prepare for the impact.

-"Did I get him?" asked _Rachael_ as she and _Carousel_ were waiting for the rubbles to settle down.

...And as the rubbles settled down _Rachael_ and _Carousel_ saw _Mischief_... he was unharmed, they were anxious to see that he had manage to cover himself with his pair of huge dark wings, right before the impact... _Mischief_ then spreads out his wings to shake off the rubbles.

-"I'm impressed... you almost had me there." Said _Mischief_ with a laugh

 _Carousel_ then quickly grabbed him from behind; she grabbed him by the wing then tossed him around.

-"You talk too much... and your annoying voice reminds me of someone." Said _Carousel_ as she tossed him around... _Mischief_ was caught off guard and was slammed by _Carousel_ through the walls of the labyrinth. -"Rachael, let's go before he recovers…" cried _Carousel_

Then the two ladies ran back to where the door was and they shared their skills to open up the heavy concrete door... _Rachael's_ telekinetic skill and _Carousel's_ improving super strength. They both hurriedly rushed out of the underground maze upon opening the heavy concrete door. The crowds are still waiting for them as they applaud when they saw _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ walked out from that underground maze.

-"There are soul stealers inside that maze!" cried _Carousel_ upon walking out of the underground maze.

Then the crowd who were still watching the competition started to babble again.

-"Now she's talking gibberish just because she lost to Emery." Whispered one of the spectators of the competition, but _Carousel_ heard it loud and clear.

-"No…! I'm not making things up; there are monsters inside that lair." Cried _Carousel_ as she points out to the underground maze where they had just came out.

-"She's telling the truth!" _Rachael_ also shouted. -"I saw those monsters too…!" She cried

Then some of the spectators began to believe in _Carousel's_ declaration. -"Let's get inside to see if she's telling the truth!" cried one of the spectators.

-"Yes, let's get inside to find out!" cried the other

-"But... why would we listen to her... she's the only one who seems to have seen it, Emery didn't walk out from that obstacle feeling harmed." Cried one of the spectators

Some of the spectators then slowly pulled their eyebrows down... wondering what haven't they understood from the situation.

-"Where's Emery?" _Carousel_ abruptly asked

-"Yeah... where is she?" asked too by _Rachael_ -"I don't see her anywhere..."

-"And so as Emoreh." _Carousel_ added

-"Carousel, let's go!" cried one of the spectators again.

And _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then led some of their fellow 'splitters' into the underground maze. They looked every area, every possible corner of the labyrinth, they looked everywhere... but they didn't see any soul stealers, they didn't see anything.

-"Carousel... we don't see any monsters here." Said one of the splitters

-"But... I'm telling you, they were here... two of them... two soul stealers." _Carousel_ explained

-"What do you call them again? ... Soul... stealers?" asked one of them

-"Yes, they're soul stealers... hideous monsters with horns on their foreheads, they had pair of raven wings, eyes... dark as pitch black and claws that could rip you into pieces... their mouths are like beaks... those creatures steals souls, they do it so by sucking your soul through your mouth." _Rachael_ explained

-"Why would there be soul stealers here?" asked one of the splitters again

-"I don't know, I guess we should ask Demeon about that." Said _Carousel_

-"About what…?" _Demeon_ quickly answered as he was rushing down into the underground maze, and pretends to be looking very worried. -"I heard the crowd are talking about a monster you just saw... that's why I rushed here to see what it is... are you two alright?"

-"Yes, we're fine." _Carousel_ answered as she slightly shook her head. -"Demeon, why are there soul stealers here?"

 _Demeon_ looked to be concerned… -"So it's true…? You saw a soul stealer here?"

-"Yes and there's two of them... they are almost identical to each other, except the other one this time had two horns on his forehead and the one we have encountered at 'Lake Midgar' was also here... can you tell me why are they here…?" asked _Carousel_ , her tone was somewhat demanding.

-"I'm telling you, I don't have any idea on what you're talking about, all I know is that... this place had been abandoned ever since, nobody comes here... and nobody had been monitoring this place for so many years. So maybe that's the reason why those soul stealers made this labyrinth their dwelling place."

-"And what exactly is your purpose for letting us in here…?" asked _Carousel_ in a demanding manner, because she doesn't buy what _Demeon_ was saying…

 _Demeon_ was slightly taken aback as he tries to clear his throat… -"This obstacle was not my idea… the shamans of the academy thought of this… I swear, I have no idea there are soul stealers here…"

 _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes… -"And that is why... we need to inform all the splitters of this academy that there are soul stealers who are dwelling in here at 'Stellar Academy'... this school isn't safe anymore." Cried _Carousel_

 _Demeon_ then strode _Carousel_ away from the crowd, and he took her by the arm. -"Now, your being exaggerated Carousel... there's no need for you to panic."

-"What…? Me…? Exaggerated…? There's no exaggeration here Demeon, this academy had turned into a soul stealer's lair!"

-"Remember what I told you?" whispered _Demeon_ -"Let's not rush things."

-"I get it… you're worried about your school's image." Replied _Carousel_

-"No, it's not about that at all... I'm not worried about this school's image; I'm worried for every splitter who is training in this academy... if this school closes, where will they all train? Where will they all go? What will happen to all their dreams?"

-"But what would happen to their lives?" _Carousel_ abruptly asked -"If... if this place isn't safe anymore... that's what you should be thinking, the security of the splitters who are training here and as the owner of this school... that should be your top priority, their safety... their lives... what would you do with your dream if you don't have your life?"

-"Calm down Carousel... you're just over reacting, these Erishans are splitters too... just like you... and they too can look out for themselves... let's talk in my office." Said _Demeon_ as he strode _Carousel_ by the shoulder and led her out of that underground maze.

-"Carousel…! Where are you taking her?" cried _Rachael_

-"We are just going to talk in his office." Replied _Carousel_ in a soft tone…

-"Can I come…?"

-"Tell her it's private." _Demeon_ whispered to _Carousel_

 _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed -"What do you mean it's private? These kinds of things shouldn't be private... these things should be discussed publicly... for everyone's safety!"

-"And who do you think will believe you if you start talking about this incident publicly?" _Demeon_ softly said -"I'm the only one here who can understand you because I'm the only one who believes in what you are saying."

-"But my friend... Rachael…"

-"Your friend is not needed in this conversation." _Demeon_ interrupted -"Now, just tell her she can't come."

 _Carousel_ then looked at _Rachael_ in the eyes and communicated with her through her mind -"Don't worry I'll tell you everything after our conversation, just lead them out of here safely." Said _Carousel_ of the crowd

 _Rachael_ heard _Carousel_ right but she also read her mind and what _Carousel_ wanted her to do.

-"At… Demeon's office…?" _Rachael_ softly asked and mumbled to herself.

As _Demeon_ and _Carousel_ were walking up to the higher ground of the academy to go to _Demeon's_ office..., _Dimitris_ approached them.

-"Demeon, I need to talk to you." _Dimitris_ whispered to _Demeon_

-"What happened to your forehead?" asked _Demeon_ upon seeing a bruise on _Dimitris'_ forehead… he acted as if he didn't know.

 _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes as she was looking at the two.

-"Oh…! This?" said _Dimitris_ who instantly covered his bruised forehead with his hand while not realizing that he had been injured. -"I probably got this when I bumped on one of the hanging cabinets at the research lab." He quickly said

-"What is it that you want to tell me?" asked _Demeon_ as he was intensely looking at _Dimitris_ … -"Not now… can't you see…" said _Demeon_ to _Dimitris_ in his mind…

 _Dimitris_ then read _Demeon's_ mind… but then he asked _Demeon_ to tell _Carousel_ to go to his floating vessel and stay there for awhile.

-"Why…?" asked _Demeon_ to _Dimitris_ in his thoughts

-"I'll tell you later…" Whispered _Dimitris_ to _Demeon_ … because _Demeon_ can't read minds…

 _Carousel_ heard _Dimitris'_ reply but couldn't read their thoughts because she has no mind-reading skill like _Dimitris_ and she now looked very anxious…

 _Demeon_ slowly narrowed his eyes as he just did what _Dimitris_ had told him to do... he then strode _Carousel_ again, taking her by the arm.

-"Where are you taking me?" asked _Carousel_ -"I thought that we would be discussing things at your office?"

-"I know, but since I realized yesterday, you said that you wanted to visit me at my mansion. Then I thought that we might as well just go to my manor now and discuss the matters there." _Demeon_ said as he strode _Carousel_ into his floating vessel. -"Now, stay there for a while and wait for me... don't do anything stupid okay?" Said _Demeon_ as he locked _Carousel_ inside his vessel and then he went back to where _Dimitris_ was… and _Dimitris_ was waiting for him right outside the parking area.

 _Carousel_ then knocked the window of the vessel. -"Demeon…! I don't feel like going to your manor right now!" Cried _Carousel_ at _Demeon's_ back, but _Demeon_ just ignored her; her voice was barely heard because she was locked inside his vessel. _Demeon_ sneered as he walked away.

-"Rachael…" _Carousel_ worriedly thought to herself as she knows that _Rachael_ will definitely be looking for her at _Demeon's_ office.

-"This better be important. What is it…?" asked _Demeon_ as he approaches _Dimitris_

-"Did you lock her up in your vessel tightly?" asked _Dimitris_ as he checked on _Carousel_ inside the vessel. -"Hmm... I guess she wouldn't be able to hear us from this far." He added…

-"Yes, I did what you said... now; tell me what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

-"I saw the man who channeled into Carousel's mind last night... he's here. His name is Heraldin, he came up to me and he said... he wanted to see you."

-"What did you tell him?"

-"I told him that I would just go and get you... he's waiting for you at the lobby."

-"You idiot…! I told you to make an excuse if ever he comes here to see me!" cried _Demeon_ as he was trying not to yell at him... _Demeon_ was trying very hard to control his temper, because there were splitters around who were looking at them.

-"I didn't know what to say at that time, I was still thinking about what happened to me and to 'Conscience' at the underground maze." _Dimitris_ explained

 _Demeon_ then heavily sighed as he slightly flipped his head towards his vessel and said. -"Just take her to the mansion before Heraldin sees her here and make sure she doesn't get out... I'll be consuming her soul when I get back whether she's fully developed or not."

-"Whatever you say." replied _Dimitris_ with a snort as he went inside _Demeon's_ vessel and drove _Carousel_ through the manor.

 _Demeon_ then went to the lobby to meet up with _Heraldin_ … he was very reluctant to wear his sunglasses that is tucked inside the chest pocket of his coat.

-"My assistant said that you wanted to see me?" asked _Demeon_ upon seeing _Heraldin_ at the lobby.

-"Oh yes, by the way I'm Heraldin... Rachael's father…" Replied _Heraldin_ as he stood up from being seated and offered him a handshake.

-"I'm Demeon." Said he, as he was reluctant to shake hands with _Heraldin_

-"Isn't it too dark right now for you to be wearing that thing?" asked _Heraldin_ as he was pertaining about the sunglasses he was wearing, _Demeon_ paused for awhile and said… -"No, it's not and it's none of your business Mr. Heraldin. Now if you could just kindly tell me why you wanted to see me?"

-"You see, my daughter's best friend... Carousel, you probably know her, told me that you told her about soul stealers, what do you know about soul stealers?" _Heraldin_ quietly asked…

-"I have already told her everything I know about soul stealers, and if she had told you about that then that's – that's all I know."

-"Did you know… and are you even aware that there was a former shaman in this academy who fell victim to a soul stealer? Right after he was fired from your academy."

-"Mr. Heraldin please lower your voice... I don't want the shamans and the trainees of this academy to feel threatened about your claim... and yes, I am aware of that incident and everything is very well taking care of... thank you... so if you don't have any more questions... then would you excuse me, because I have an important conference to attend to at the... the 'Midgar City Gala'... where we will be discussing about the improvements of this city." Said _Demeon_ as he unexpectedly made an excuse and was about to turn around and walk away.

-"Wait… I still want to ask if you had seen Carousel. She said there was a competition that she had joined into." _Heraldin_ abruptly asked

-"Yes, there was indeed a competition that was just recently held... and I did see her compete, but right after the competition I left, so I don't know... just ask her fellow splitters... they might know where she is."

-"Can I just ask another favor?"

-"What if I say that I... I don't want another favor from you, do I have a choice?"

-"Well... I just wanted to ask if I could borrow those sunglasses you're wearing, because that looks so nice... I haven't worn those for years. Can I try them on?"

-"No!" cried _Demeon_ as he quickly stepped back away from _Heraldin_ who was about to grab his sunglasses. -"I mean you can't... the weather is such turmoil and as you can see... there's flying debris everywhere and I don't want my eyes to get dusted, you should buy one at the market if you want one."

-"Oh... am... I just wanted to try it..." said _Heraldin_ as he looked around and observed that the air wasn't that dusty at all… -"But if you are too kind not to let me try them on, then you're right. I would just have to buy one at the market." Said _Heraldin_ as he was trying to peek into _Demeon's_ eyes with the sunglasses he is wearing but his sunglasses were too dark for _Heraldin_ to see his eyes clearly.

-"Yes, you should." Said _Demeon_ -"As if I don't know what you are up to." He thought to himself. -"Now if you don't mind I would have to go." Said he as he immediately turned around and walked away.

-"He seems to be hiding something; I must know what it is." _Heraldin_ thought to himself as he quietly followed _Demeon_.

 _Demeon_ was then quickly walking through the parking area when he suddenly remembered. -"Oh shoot! I forgot, I don't have a vessel to ride on to, I should have told _Dimitris_ to wait for me." _Demeon_ thought to himself as he whacked his forehead.

-"Now... I don't have a choice but to walk." _Demeon_ said to himself

 _Heraldin_ overheard what _Demeon_ had said and decided to butt in. -"You're just going to walk?" he asked

 _Demeon_ looked around and saw _Heraldin_ from behind. -"Have you been following me?"

-"No…! Why would I?" replied _Heraldin_ -"We are at the parking area right? Well, I need to go to my vessel and go home too, why would I want to follow you?"

 _Demeon_ then gave him a smirk and then started to walk away.

-"Tell me, you are not really just going to walk up to there?" said _Heraldin_

-"None of your business…"

-"I have a vessel parked right there, I could give you a ride if you want."

-"No, thank you…"

-"But you'll be late for your meeting... that is... if you really are going to a meeting." _Heraldin_ sarcastically said.

 _Demeon_ then turned around and approached _Heraldin_. -"You're right... I won't make it on time to my meeting if I were just to walk, now... where is your vessel?" asked _Demeon_ -"Thank you for your offer." He added

-"No problem, come let's go... just follow me." Said _Heraldin_ as he led him to his floating vessel and they both boarded in.

Chapter Fifteen "The key"

In the meantime, _Carousel_ and _Dimitris_ were conversing inside _Demeon's_ floating vessel.

-"Demeon said that he will just meet you at his mansion, he told me to drive you there because he has some more important things to do. So, is it true? You saw a soul stealer at the underground maze?" asked _Dimitris_ sounding slightly surprised and concerned.

-"Isn't this matter much more important…?" asked _Carousel_ in an annoyed manner… -"Yes and there were two of them, I don't know if it was just coincidental but everywhere I go... there seems to be a soul stealer waiting to attack me... I don't know what they want from me, but the other soul stealer did ask me for my soul though." The tone of her voice is somewhat angry.

-"Well... what do you expect a soul stealer would be asking for…? But for your soul of course…"

 _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed as she asked _Dimitris_ … -"That's a pretty big bruise you have on your forehead." Said _Carousel_ … -"Where did you say you got it from…? ... At the research lab…?"

-"Do I have to repeat my answer?"

-"I was just asking... you don't need to feel so agitated. I'm not the one responsible for your accident." _Carousel_ said as she was looking at _Dimitris_ through the rear view mirror of the floating vessel. _Dimitris_ was driving the vessel while _Carousel_ was seated at the back.

-"Yes, I was trying to get something from the hanging cabinets when I accidentally hit myself on one of its doors."

-"Did you happen to see Emery in there?"

-"Emery…?" asked _Dimitris_ in a surprised manner

-"Yes, Emery…."

-"Why would I see Emery in there…? She's not one of the few who are allowed to get into that research laboratory. Why are you asking me? Did you see her in there?"

-"No…!" _Carousel_ abruptly replied, her tone was staggered but her eyes narrowed, almost closed, she can't tell _Dimitris_ that she actually saw _Emery_ in there because _Dimitris_ will find out that she in fact went into the research lab without his proper knowledge. -"I was just assuming that Emery is also allowed to get into the lab, considering that she is a very talented splitter... and to support that, she was in fact the first to finish the competition." _Carousel_ explained as she was a bit anxious… -"Then how did Emery get in there…?" _Carousel_ asked herself as she was wondering about the whole situation… -"That's odd…" she added

 _Dimitris_ then looked into the rear view mirror to see _Carousel_ and to try to read her mind but she was facing the side window to avoid eye contact with him.

Meanwhile, _Rachael_ was looking for _Carousel_ at _Demeon's_ office... and she was asking the shamans of the academy where to find that room... and they told her where it was but asked her why would she want to go in there, what is her business there, because _Demeon_ had strict rules regarding those kinds of things.

 _Rachael_ was trying to think of an excuse… -"I have an appointment with him." She said… -"Demeon said that, he was going to see me in his office." _Rachael_ added

-"But he's not there... in fact no one is there right now." Said one of the shamans as she slowly looked at _Rachael_ from head to foot…

 _Rachael_ narrowed her eyes… -"Are you sure…? No one's there?" she asked

-"I'm sure." Answered one of the shamans of the school -"You don't believe me…? If you want... we could go there right now so you can take a look for yourself." The female shaman suggested

-"Can we…?"

-"Of course, come with me..." The shaman said. Her voice was so calm. -"Why do you want to see him anyway?" asked the shaman while they were walking.

-"It's personal... if you don't mind." answered _Rachael_

-"Alright..." said the shaman in a soft but meaningful tone as her lips were tightly pressed, she was wearing a sarcastic smile while they were walking. -"Here we are... at Demeon's office…" She said upon stopping to a door in front of them.

-"Shh..." _Rachael_ whispered as she tries to place her ear to the door to listen first.

-"What are you doing?" asked the shaman with a slight laugh -"He's not there!" Said she while opening the door to Demeon's office -"See, I told you... he's not here!"

-"Oh..." _Rachael_ softly said, as she saw that no one was really in there, just an empty office... her eyes slowly narrowed. -"Anyways, thank you for your time." Said _Rachael_

-"I know what you're going through right now." Said the female shaman

-"You... you do?" _Rachael_ slowly asked

-"Aha!" the shaman nodded

 _Rachael's_ eyebrows were pulled down as her eyes slowly narrowed. -"To be honest... I... I'm just a little bit confused but it's not really that much big of a deal."

-"I know..." said the shaman; her voice was somewhat anxious… -"Demeon had promises to beautiful ladies like you... and me." She said in an intriguing manner… -"But sometimes he just doesn't keep his promises. I know how charming he is but... just a friendly advice; don't give your whole heart to him." The shaman whispered -"If you don't want to end up like me."

-"What!" cried _Rachael_ -"No, no, no... You've got it all wrong! I just... I just... never mind, I'm just goanna go." _Rachael_ said as she rolled her eyes. She was shaking her head while she was heading back home.

Meanwhile... _Heraldin_ was still persistent to read _Demeon's_ mind.

-"Are you still not goanna take off your sunglasses? It's already night time." Said _Heraldin_ while driving his floating vessel

-"Why is it that you badly want me to take off my sunglasses?"

-"No... I don't mean to annoy you but it's just that, it's already nighttime... can you still see where you're going with those dark sunglasses?"  
-"Yes, I can... now if you could just kindly drop me there at that building." Said _Demon_ to _Heraldin_ pointing to a very colossal building with the size of a hypodrome made with super steel metal.

-"Alright, here you go." Replied _Heraldin_ as he parked his floating vessel at the side of the building where _Demeon_ told him to.

 _Demeon_ then opened the door of the vessel and quickly got out… he fixed his suit and said… -"Thank you for your conveying."

-"No problem, anytime…" Replied _Heraldin_ -"Good luck with your convention and, and make the city proud." _Heraldin_ concluded while _Demeon_ was already walking through the entrance of the building who doesn't seem to care what _Heraldin_ was telling him. -"Nice talking to you…" _Heraldin_ added

 _Demeon_ snarled at his back… his face was the complete opposite of charming. -"You're such a waste of my time." _Demeon_ thought to himself as he was walking away from _Heraldin_ and went straight ahead through the entrance of the building; he slightly glanced back, checking if _Heraldin_ was following him and when he felt that _Heraldin_ wasn't and that his vessel wasn't parked there anymore... _Demeon_ then hurriedly walked towards the backside of the building to exit. -"I guess I have no choice but to transform and fly." He thought to himself, as he finally took off his sunglasses. _Demeon_ was about to take off his clothes and transform… when he heard someone talked to him... _Demeon_ was taken aback…

-"I thought you said you were going to a meeting? This place sure doesn't look like a conference area." Said _Heraldin_ as he emerged from one of the dark corners of the building, _Heraldin_ fortunately followed his instinct, which is to go and check the exit of the building. -"I knew you were up to something." He said as he looked into _Demeon's_ eyes. But before _Heraldin_ could even try to read his thoughts, _Demeon_ quickly went back to the building and rode one of the lifts that luckily opened in his presence. _Heraldin_ then quickly followed but he was too late, the lift that _Demeon_ has taken has closed so he had no choice but to take the stairs, _Heraldin_ checked every possible floor where _Demeon_ might have gone to, He checked all the floors up to the top floor at the roof top... but with no avail. _Demeon_ was gone, _Heraldin_ was too late... _Demeon_ has flown away, _Heraldin_ looked at the ground up through the skies to see if he could spot _Demeon_... looking through the top balcony but he didn't find anything.

Meanwhile... back at the manor, _Carousel_ was waiting for _Demeon_ at the manor's lobby. They just got out from the vessel and they headed straight at the mansion, passing the foyer... then to the lobby.

-"Just wait for him here." Said _Dimitris_ to _Carousel_

 _Carousel_ then seated herself at the comfortable divan. -"Okay" she said while drumming her fingers on the armrest of the settee...

-"I will now leave you here." Said _Dimitris_ as he took a quick glance up at the dome ceiling of the mansion and saw _Conscience_ and _Assailant_ whom each were dangling in one of the many huge... hanging chandeliers of the manor. _Conscience_ and _Assailant_ were eager to see _Carousel_ ; their eyes glowed even if they were pitched black in color. _Dimitris_ then slightly flipped his head, signaling them that they should flee. _Carousel_ hardly saw how _Dimitris_ reacted but she still caught a glimpse of _Dimitris_ , so she too looked up to see what _Dimitris_ was looking at... and saw that the chandeliers were swaying... she didn't see _Conscience_ and _Assailant_ dangling because they were too quick to flee.

-"Must be the earthquakes again." Said _Dimitris_ as he too was looking at the swaying chandeliers -"We sometimes can't feel the quakes because they're not that strong at times but you could just tell when some things around you starts to move." _Dimitris_ explained

-"But... why only two?" asked _Carousel_ -"If you say that it's because of the slight quakes."

-"What…?"

-"Why only two chandeliers are swaying…? The others are not!" said _Carousel_

-"Do you want something to eat?" _Dimitris_ abruptly asked

-"No thank you, I don't feel like eating right now."

-"Are you sure? Because you just got into a fight... don't you need to replenish your energy?"

-"No, I'm good."

-"Alright then... just make yourself comfortable." Said _Dimitris_

 _Carousel_ nodded as _Dimitris_ walked away. But she couldn't stay still when _Dimitris_ left...

As _Dimitris_ left _Carousel_... in the lobby, _Dimitris_ met up with _Conscience_ and _Assailant_ at the wine cellar of the mansion... it was dark and eerie. -"Leave that girl to Demeon." Said _Dimitris_

-"Does she have a powerful soul?" asked _Assailant_ in a very deep voice, his words were crumbling... _Dimitris_ could barely understand him.

-"Yes she has, but she belongs to the master." Replied _Dimitris_

 _Assailant_ snarled -"I long for the smell of a soul; I haven't had one for such a long time." He said and he sounded like he was eating his words.

-"Erishans everywhere are becoming more and more wary of us, it is very hard to find a potential victim these days and if we do find one... it turns out... that Erishan doesn't have a soul. How can we keep our immortality if we don't consume a soul? I too haven't had a soul for such a very long time." _Conscience_ said -"Splitters are the only ones who are guaranteed to have a soul, but it's very difficult to tackle a 'splitter' these days." He added…

-"Neither do I... so I guess if we can't find a potential victim with a soul... then I guess we will just have to settle for their blood... that would still keep us going." _Dimitris_ said with a snort.

Then _Assailant_ began to react aggressively upon hearing _Dimitris'_ assertion, he growled at them and he was about to get out of the wine cellar to aim at _Carousel_.

-"Here he goes again…" Said _Dimitris_ -"You know what to do…" _Dimitris_ said to _Conscience_ as they both tied _Assailant_ with thick metal chains and they dragged him into the basement vault.

-"You still don't know how to control yourself." Said _Dimitris_ to _Assailant_ … -"But you'll soon learn how to, it will take some time… as you are the latest addition to our group." Said _Dimitris_ as he closed the thick metal door of the vault…

 _Carousel_ slightly heard the commotion so she got up from being seated and started to roam around; she went to follow where the noise came from but then she saw the door to the library... then she remembered the book _Demeon_ was holding when she first saw him there so _Carousel_ decided to go to the library again. She silently skipped through the corridors then quietly opened the door to the library... she immediately went inside and closed back the door.

-"Now, where is that... drawer?" _Carousel_ slowly thought to herself as she was searching for it... Then a lightning from the outside illuminated the room revealing where the drawer was. -"Oh there it is." She mumbled to herself upon seeing the drawer. _Carousel_ then quietly moved towards that desk as she softly started to open the drawer... but it won't open... the drawer was locked, _Carousel_ tried to jolt it but it won't budge. -"If I force to open this, _Demeon_ might notice the strain." _Carousel_ thought to herself as she slightly bent down to examine the drawer... she started to feel the face of the drawer with her fingertips and felt that there was something engraved to it... _Carousel_ felt curious, so she ran her fingertips through it again and felt the same carved thing on the face of the drawer, _Carousel_ tried to narrow her eyes to see what the engraved thing is... but the room was too dark for her to have a clear look at it. _Carousel_ was tempted to turn on the lights of the library, but she feared that _Demeon_ might not be too happy to see her in there in case he comes home. _Carousel_ just kept on trying to see what was engraved on the face of the drawer. And then it started to rain heavily again, thunderstorms and lighting was louder and stronger. A bright lightning followed by a loud thunder caught the outline of the carved figure. _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes… -"This looks familiar." she said to herself and a second lightning from the outside illuminated the figure revealing an 'EYE' symbol. _Carousel_ then remembered the key in her pocket with the same 'EYE' symbol on it too, so _Carousel_ took the key from her pocket. -"I'm glad that I forgot to give this back to Heraldin." She said to herself as she tried to insert the key into the lock of the drawer... it fitted just right then she quietly turned the key... the lock snapped and the drawer opened. _Carousel_ was stunned. -"I can't believe this." She thought to herself upon opening the drawer and saw a book lying in there... _Carousel_ picked it up and started to turn the pages. -"I knew it... this is also a Book of life!" _Carousel_ whispered to herself as she began reading it. _Carousel_ read the book as fast as she could; taking advantage of every second a lightning strikes from the outside that illuminates the dark library room, _Carousel's_ eyes widened as she reads along... -"Demeon is a soul... stealer." _Carousel_ slowly said to herself upon reading from some of the pages of the book of life of _Demeon_. -"So the story he was telling me about the myth of the very first soul stealer is actually true... and it is in fact Demeon himself..." _Carousel_ told herself as she was still alertly reading the book... she was frightened to know the truth.

Meanwhile, _Heraldin_ just got home and he immediately went to look for _Rachael_ and _Carousel_ but he couldn't find them so he went to look for _Faust_ , he found him at the lower shelter... at the engine room.

-"You're still here?" asked _Heraldin_ as he was catching his breath.

-"Yes, and I think I'm... I'm almost finished." Replied _Faust_ as he got up from fixing the engines of the huge combat vessel… -"Do you think we should give this a try? Where's the control room?" He asked.

-"No time for that now…" Said _Heraldin_ … -"Have you seen Rachael and Carousel?"

-"Well, since they left this morning... I was just here the whole time and I didn't hear from anybody except you... so I guess... no... I didn't see them."

-"Then we need to find them, because I think they're in danger."

-"Why…? What happened?" asked _Faust_ as he was looking very worried.

 _Heraldin_ then told _Faust_ everything that had happened. -"And that is why I think they are in great danger." _Heraldin_ explained and said… -"You know where Demeon's manor is... so I want you to go there and see if they are in fact there... while I go and check if they are at the 'Ruins of Goban Shrine' we need to split to increase our chances on finding them." _Heraldin_ suggested.

-"Right…" said _Faust_ as they both hurriedly went to look for them.

-"Faust…" _Heraldin_ interrupted as he remembered something to remind him.

-"Yes…?"

-"If you were to find and see _Rachael_ and _Carousel_ … or just one of them, then don't let her out of your guard, that's your top priority."

-"I understand." Replied _Faust_

In the meantime... while _Carousel_ was anxiously reading _Demeon's_ 'book of life' she heard a heavy stump noise that seems to be something has fallen at the balcony of the library. _Carousel_ was disrupted so she walked towards the oriel window to check what it was as she hid herself from the heavy drapes of the window... then she slowly parted the drapes to see what it was. And as the lightning strikes again... it revealed that something did in fact fell onto the balcony of the library, _Carousel's_ eyes widened as she again saw the beast that she had encountered at the 'Ruins of Goban Shrine' and it was in fact _Demeon_ himself who landed at the library's balcony. The beast was now slowly transforming into a naked man as it walks towards the oriel window, _Carousel_ covered her mouth with her left hand to avoid making an unnecessary sound while her other hand was still tightly holding the book. _Carousel_ couldn't believe what she had just witnessed, her eyes narrowed as she saw the beast slowly turning into a naked man which was... _Demeon_ … _Demeon_ who is now walking straight at her, _Carousel_ then started to look somewhere to hide because it was too late for her to get out from the door since she was at the other side of the library; _Carousel_ saw that there was a ladder beside her that leads up to the mezzanine so she quickly climbed that ladder and stayed there... she then hid herself once again at one of the many tall shelves that were standing at the mezzanine. Then the glass door of the oriel window below the mezzanine slowly opened... _Demeon_ entered through the door of the oriel window... he was soaking wet.

 _Carousel_ who was hiding at the mezzanine, now on top of _Demeon_ slowly looked down to observe the upheaval. _Demeon_ then started to walk towards the door when he sensed the presence of _Carousel_ , he stopped but he didn't know where she was... _Demeon_ looked around to see where _Carousel_ was hiding but it was too dark for him to see. -"Come out now Carousel, I know you're in here." Said _Demeon_ as he was looking and smelling around and saw his drawer was opened. -"So, now you know." _Demeon_ concluded. _Carousel_ was just hiding in one of the standing shelves at the mezzanine... she was standing very still against the high shelves, she didn't want to make any unnecessary sound and movement, _Carousel_ slowly peeped and saw _Demeon_ naked with his back facing her. _Demeon_ was then about to turn on the lights but said… -"This is much better." He said to himself as he slowly transformed back into his 'soul stealer' image. _Carousel_ saw something growing at _Demeon's_ back, between his shoulder blades... _Demeon_ broadened his shoulders to emphasize the bones on his back which there seems to be protruding bones coming out off his skin, his fingers were also protruding and before she knows it... _Demeon_ was completely transformed back into his beast representation… which was a huge monster bat-like creature… _Carousel_ then remembered everything she and _Demeon_ had talked about. -"All along... it was only you." _Carousel_ thought to herself.

 _Demeon_ snarled as he growled... his echo location skill then located where _Carousel_ was. -"There you are." Said _Demeon_ upon seeing _Carousel_ at the mezzanine, he then jumped to where _Carousel_ was.

-"I believe you have something that is mine." Said _Demeon_ in a very low tone upon seeing his 'book of life' in _Carousel's_ arms… and he then neared his face into _Carousel's_.

 _Carousel_... then unexpectedly slammed the book onto _Demeon's_ face and quickly ran away, with the book still tucked in her arms… she then jumped through one of the glass windows of the mezzanine… she held her arm with her elbow upfront to protect her head from the impact and her other hand still having a tight grip on the book, the glasses broke upon collision with _Carousel_ and bits and pieces of broken glass where scattered all over the place, she flipped and rolled over as she landed on the balcony… to counter act the force, but some of the shattered glasses bruised _Carousel_ on her arms and legs. In the meantime ... _Demeon_ twisted back his mandibles from the slap that he had received from _Carousel_ and cracking sounds of bones were heard from his actions. -"That did hurt quite a bit." _Demeon_ mumbled to himself as he quickly followed _Carousel_... -"Give me back my book." _Demeon_ growled at _Carousel_ … _Carousel_ was looking up at _Demeon_ then she looked down from the balcony and saw that it was quite high from where she was, down to the ground... she hesitated to jump at first but she soon decided that she had no choice but to jump to the ground... because _Demeon_ was fast approaching. _Carousel_ jumped off the balcony, the heels on _Carousel's_ boots slightly penetrated the soft ground as she jumped down and landed from a seemingly three floor high building. _Carousel_ tries to feel her knees that had gone numbed from the jump... as she tries to run away, but _Demeon_ was flying right behind her. -"That's right... run! That's what you're good at." Said _Demeon_

 _Carousel_ was running away so fast when she suddenly came to a stop. -"Where will I go now?" she asked herself upon seeing that there was nowhere else to go, she didn't notice that she was cornered, because… perhaps she was seemingly running so fast that she unknowingly turned to a dead end corner... when she realized that she was surrounded and was standing at the foot of a very high cliff. -"How can I get over there…?" She asked herself as she looked up to the cliff. -"I can't jump that high." She thought to herself.

-"So... nowhere else to go?" asked _Demeon_ teasingly as he slowly descended to the ground, _Carousel_ then slowly turned around to face him.

-"You want this back?" asked _Carousel_ as she showed the book to _Demeon_.

-"Yes, and I want your soul too." Replied _Demeon_ as he grabbed his book back... but _Carousel_ won't give it back to him, she held a tight grip on the book and _Demeon_ tried to capture _Carousel_ , but suddenly something knocked _Demeon_ from behind... _Carousel_ turned to see… and it was 'Rookie' that bumped into him... slamming _Demeon_ through the sides of the cliffs.

-"Carousel, get in!" cried _Faust_ as he opened the doors of his vessel 'Rookie',

 _Carousel_ was so happy to see _Faust_ , and she immediately jumped inside his vessel as its doors started to close.

 _Demeon_ on the other hand, immediately recovered from the slamming 'Rookie' did to him on the sides of the cliffs and he shrugged off the rocks and debris that had fallen into his body. He snarled and seems to be very angry.

-"Let's go!" cried _Carousel_

-"You'll regret this." Said _Demeon_ to _Carousel_ as he was standing at the foot of the cliff…

 _Faust_ then presses a series of buttons... and 'Rookie'... then immediately teleported _Faust_ and _Carousel_ away from that place.

-"Brace yourself." cried _Faust_ to _Carousel_.

And moments later... they were at _Faust's_ shelter again, the same place where they were teleported when they encountered _Conscience_ the last time at 'Lake Midgar'.

 _Demeon_ snarled upon seeing them leave, he did not bother to follow them because he could not see them anywhere and he knew that there was no use to compete with a vessel that has the ability to teleport, he then looked at his 'book of life' that he had taken away from _Carousel_... which he managed to take away from her but the book was torn in half and half of the book was missing... _Demeon_ growled so loud that the three 'soul stealers' in the manor even heard of it, but _Demeon_ was a bit relieved when he examined the book and realized that the most important secret plan that he had wrote at the last part of his 'book of life' was still his for the taking. -"I assume she hasn't read this part yet." _Demeon_ thought to him self… -"I guess it's not yet too late for me." He said to himself as he slightly laughed.

 _Demeon_ then went back into his manor, he hid the half part of his 'book of life' and ordered his follower – _Conscience_... -"You know what to do." Said _Demeon_ to _Conscience_... his voice was piercing… -"You know where she lives right…?"

-"Yes master…" Replied _Conscience_ in a very low tone as he quickly fled away.

 _Demeon_ then summoned _Dimitris_...

-"What is it Demeon? I mean… master…" asked _Dimitris_ in a sarcastic tone…

-"We have to accomplish our main purpose now... before Carousel figures out what it is..." said _Demeon_ … -"She has the other part of my..." He added as he controlled his own thoughts then he was brought to a pause.

-"The other part of your… what…?"

-"Nothing…! Just do what I tell you…" _Demeon_ strongly demanded

-"Yes... Demeon…" _Dimitris_ replied with a snort, as he tried to look into _Demeon's_ eyes to read his thoughts… but then _Demeon_ quickly turned around to avoid eye contact and went on his own way.

Meanwhile... at _Faust's_ underground shelter... -"That was close." Said _Faust_ as he got out from his vessel and started to comfort _Carousel_. -"Are you alright?"

-"Yes, I'm... I'm fine." replied _Carousel_ but her voice was shaking as she was feeling very frantic.

-"What was that?" asked _Faust_ as his voice sounded really worried and loud.

-"Demeon…" replied _Carousel_

-"What?" cried _Faust_ -"Demeon?"

-"Yes... that beast was Demeon."

-"Demeon…? Our... our... school's predecessor…? Are you sure?"

-"Yes, if you don't believe me... then read this." Said _Carousel_ as she handed _Demeon's_ 'book of life' to him... but _Faust_ did not mind about the book first... because he was more concern about _Carousel's_ condition.

-"Was... was that the same beast you told me that you've encountered at the Ruins of Goban Shrine?" asked _Faust_ as he now feels that _Carousel_ was in fact telling him the truth, it's just that he couldn't believe it at first.

-"Yes…"

-"Did he hurt you? What does he want from you?" _Faust_ asked as his voice sounded really angry when he saw the minor cuts and bruises on _Carousel's_ body.

-"No... He wasn't able to hurt me; I got these when I jumped off the window." _Carousel_ explained as she was feeling her wounds. -"He's a soul stealer so... what do you think he wants from me?"

-"Wait, I'll have to get you inside so I can help you treat your wounds." Said _Faust_ as he tried to carry _Carousel_ into his arms en route to his underground shelter…

But _Carousel_ slightly resisted. -"Faust, no... You don't need to carry me... I can still handle myself." _Carousel_ softly said as she just clung unto _Faust's_ arm and started to walk with him into his shelter. -"How did you find me?" she asked

-"Heraldin told me to look for you at Demeon's manor because he had an encounter with him and Heraldin knew right then that you were in danger and he was right. He said that it would be better for us to find you and Rachael if we split up, so he went to the 'Ruins of Goban Shrine' to look for you both and he told me to go to Demeon's mansion since I was the one who knew where that place was."

-"Rachael..." _Carousel_ worriedly said -"We need to find her." Said _Carousel_ as she turned back and was about to board 'Rookie' again.

-"But it would be better for you if we would just stay here for awhile." _Faust_ suggested

-"But how about Rachael... I just can't imagine something bad happening to her." Cried _Carousel_

-"But if we go now to look for her, then I might be risking your own safety... Heraldin told me that if I were to find any one of you then I must keep that someone very safe, those were his firm orders. And I have faith that Heraldin will find her, because if there's anyone who would feel worried about her first, then that would be him... I believe that he won't let anything bad happens to her daughter... let's just put our trust in him."

 _Carousel_ sighed as she slowly looked down… -"Thank you..." _Carousel_ softly said… -"Thank you for keeping me safe."

-"It was nothing." _Faust_ answered -"I said to you before, that I promise to protect you."

-"Thank you, thank you…" _Carousel_ slowly said as she hugged _Faust_ tightly, and they both went into his shelter.

 _Carousel_ was looking around and said… -"At first I thought that you would teleport us back at the 'Ruin city of Harlow' at Heraldin's shelter." Said _Carousel_ , as she was now feeling much better, the fear in her heart slowly passed away.

-"I'm sorry; it's just that I haven't yet programmed Rookie to teleport us there, my shelter is Rookie's basic refuge you know." Explained _Faust_ -"But if you want, we could go there right now."

-"No, its okay... I'll... I'll rest here for awhile…"

-"Now, what's that you are holding you say?"

-"Demeon's book of life, I managed to take the half of it when he snatched it from me." Said _Carousel_ as she showed the book to _Faust_... the book was torn into two, when _Carousel_ and _Demeon_ were struggling for its possession. -"I've got the first part." _Carousel_ concluded.

-"So... he was that beast after all…?"

-"Yes, and he was also the one who provoked the 'Great War' to happen more than twenty years ago. He made friends with every leader of each possible realm he knows... his plan was to look into their top secret without being seen... and use those information's he knew to his advantage..." Said _Carousel_ as she turned the pages of the book and pointed out a line that she was about to read. -"In what Demeon called... were his mischievous acts." She added

-"How?" asked _Faust_

-"Read it…" said _Carousel_ as she handed the torn book to _Faust_.

 _Faust_ then started to turn the pages but couldn't find where it was written. -"Where is it?" He asked

-"Here…" _Carousel_ replied as she flipped the pages and showed _Faust_ where it was written…

 _Faust_ then began reading it… -"So, he was a rich businessman with a research facility business... that deals with bio weaponry... and his top research scientist is Dr..." _Faust_ eyes widened as he slowly read the name of that person… -"Dr. Mario Toculla…" his words were shaking as he said those words…

-"Why…? What's wrong?" asked _Carousel_

-"I, I am… Faust Toculla and Dr. Mario Toculla... is my... father." _Faust_ slowly replied -"I didn't know that my father was working for him."

 _Carousel_ was saddened by _Faust's_ declaration. -"I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't know." Said _Carousel_ slowly as she gave _Faust_ a soft pat at his shoulder…

-"It's okay…" said _Faust_ as he was looking a little anxious.

-"But what I'm about to tell you might not be okay to you." Said _Carousel_ , her eyes were wistful.

-"Okay... what... is it…?" asked _Faust_ , his tone was prolonged as he was now looking really anxious.

-"Your father, Dr Mario Toculla is Demeon's leading top research scientist, but... not only that..." _Carousel_ slowly concluded, she looked down and wasn't sure if she would tell something about it to _Faust_ but then... she felt that she needed to anyway, so she sighed first as she looked at _Faust_. -"Demeon used your father in his evil plans; he made him invent any possible weaponry of war… weapons of mass destruction that he can make. And when Demeon had no use for your father anymore, he... he killed him." _Carousel's_ voice was very sympathetic.

-"What!" cried _Faust_ as he turned the pages of the book to look for the answers himself... he wanted to know if _Carousel_ was in fact telling him the truth, _Faust_ was then fighting back the tears in his eyes when he found it... it turns out _Carousel_ was in fact telling him the truth. _Faust_ was still reading the book when he said… -"I knew it! Before, I thought that... my father died... because of the war, I didn't know that he was actually murdered, but now all is clear, my father was in fact murdered, so if it wasn't for that beast, my father would probably be still alive today." He said, his words were shaking… -"Demeon has really proven himself to be called a beast, because only a beast can do such things... after all the things that my father did for him..." As _Faust_ was reading through the context of the book. -"Demeon still had the guts to kill him... does he even have a conscience?"

-"I suppose he doesn't have that..." replied _Carousel_ -"And speaking of conscience..." _Carousel_ concluded -"I think I read something about that..." said _Carousel_ as she asked _Faust_ for the book back -"Here..." _Carousel_ said upon finding the contents she wanted to show to _Faust_. -"Demeon wrote here; he said that he has three servants, as well as his accomplices... 'Conscience', 'Mischief' and 'Assailant' were the names that he had given to the three... it says here, that Demeon himself had the power to name them, because he was the one who persuaded these three 'soul seekers' to become 'soul stealers' and these three 'soul stealers' represents Demeon himself... and their names given to them are their strengths as well as their weaknesses. And Demeon knows of these very well that's why he can keep them as his servants… and for them to be defeated… you must break its horn… but first… you must know its certain character weakness is… for you to tame them, because they are very aggressive."

-"Cha… cha… character… character weakness…? I don't understand." asked _Faust_

-"Yes…" replied _Carousel_ as she continued to read through the pages… -"And it says here… that a soul stealer is a very aggressive being… but more of like a beast if you ask me, and the only way to tame it is to know its certain character weakness is and once a soul stealer is weakened by its character weakness… then that will be the time that you should break its… horn."

 _Faust_ nodded as he somewhat understood _Carousel's_ explanation.

 _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes as she started to recall the encounters she had with the soul stealers she'd seen. -"Now at least we know their names and it's just a matter of finding out who's who?" _Carousel_ concluded -"The one we had encountered with at Lake Midgar is probably the one Demeon calls 'Conscience'... because you told me that he seemed to have gotten stronger when you told him about your regrets of persuading me to join you in your 'embloig' hunting..."

-"Embloig…? Is that what they call it?" _Faust_ interrupted

-"Yes, I learned it at a workstation at the academy's research Lab." Explained _Carousel_ -"And have I told you that the 'embloig' that we had given to Dimitris was gone…" she added

-"Gone…?" asked _Faust_ -"How did that happened?"

-"Actually… I didn't exactly know what happened… all I know is that when Dimitris called me up to see what had happened to the embloig… Rachael and I saw that the container that we had put the embloig was empty… except for some droplets of water that are scattered all over the container… and we also thought that… maybe the embloig died and had turned into parts of water… because we had let it out of the water too long."

-"But that's just ridiculous." Said _Faust_ -"A water creature or an embloig… if that's what they call it… is an immortal creature, it couldn't just die in such a simple manner… it just doesn't make any sense… and besides… we left it there being adaptable to air and it was very much alive before we left." Said _Faust_ … -"I have a strong feeling that someone or something might have killed it." Declared _Faust_ as he narrowed his eyes…

 _Carousel_ sighed as she said… -"Anyways... that soul stealer was playing with your conscience at that time that's most likely why he got stronger, and again I have seen him at the underground maze of the academy during the competition... and when I said that I knew him but I was just actually speculating and that I told him that he was Isoah... a good man who turned into this monster... and then all of a sudden he seemed to weaken as if I was taking hold of his conscience..."

 _Faust_ was taken aback… -"Demeon must have intentionally put you into that competition to fall victim to Conscience..." He said

-"Absolutely... but not just to Conscience but to them..." _Carousel_ added

 _Faust_ narrowed his eyes, as he waits for _Carousel's_ next details... -"Because there was this another soul stealer in that underground maze with Conscience..." Said _Carousel_ -"That soul stealer looked quite like Conscience but he had two horns on his forehead instead of one and he seems to be slightly slenderer than Conscience"

-"And what are your thoughts on who might that soul stealer be…?"

-"I'm not sure but my guess is... he's the one Demeon calls in his book... Mischief…"

-"So he's mischievous?"

 _Carousel's_ eyes slowly narrowed as she explains... -"I have encountered him only once, at the underground maze of the academy and we didn't interact that much because we had escaped... so I didn't really get to know his true character at that time, but it's not hard to know who Mischief really is..."

 _Faust's_ eyebrows were pulled down as he asked _Carousel_... -"Really…? You know who Mischief is?"

-"Yes, and it's not that hard to figure out since Demeon has only one apparent companion."

 _Faust_ was subdued to think for awhile… -"Dimitris?" he asked

-"Of course!" cried _Carousel_ -"Who else would that soul stealer be? Dimitris is obviously a very mischievous Erishan, and I can't imagine him not knowing anything about this unfortunate happenings, considering that he's the only companion of Demeon, and now... it's all clear to me why he told Rachael before the competition that there was an unexpected challenge that was waiting for me... because he was actually one of the perpetrators that is about to get me." _Carousel_ concluded -"The bruise on his forehead, just right after we had encountered the soul stealers at the underground maze. And that annoying voice!" cried she as she tries to reminisce the sound of _Dimitris'_ and _Mischief's_ voices… -"I knew that there was a connection between those two." She added

-"How about the third one…? The 'Assailant'…? Do you know something about that soul stealer?"

-"Now, that I don't know about... I've never had an encounter with him nor doesn't this book say much about him either." Said _Carousel_ as she was scanning the 'book of life' of _Demeon_ … -"But it says here that he is the latest addition to the group of soul stealers… and maybe because some of his information was written at the last pages of this book, while, I only got the initial part of it…" She concluded as she shown the torn book to _Faust_ … -"But I'm sure that Assailant looks somewhat like Conscience and Mischief too." She added

-"How can you be so sure…?"

-"Because they are all soul stealers…"

-"Demeon is a soul stealer too... but why doesn't he look like them?"

-"Because he never was and never been a soul seeker to begin with... he was the very first soul stealer... and he was also the one who tempted Isoah to consume a soul, remember that... only soul seekers who turned into soul stealers by submitting to the temptation of consuming a soul are the only ones who will turn into that kind of an ugly, horrible image. It's a permanent reminder of their treachery… it is written in here…"

-"Permanent you say? But if your speculations are true..."

-"But they're not speculations." _Carousel_ interrupted -"It's all written in here... here, read it yourself." Said _Carousel_ as she handed the book to _Faust_

-"No, what I meant was your speculations about Dimitris, if he is the soul stealer Mischief you say that he is... then why does he look like a normal male Erishan? If you said that they're horrible image is a permanent reminder of their treachery…? Do you think that he probably has a shape shifting skill?" asked _Faust_

-"Good question…" said _Carousel_ as she tries to remember what she had witnessed at the manor. -"It's possible that he has a shape shifting skill, because I've witnessed Demeon turned into an Erishan then turned back into a beast... meaning, Demeon has a shape shifting skill... so it's possible that Dimitris has a shape shifting skill too, hmm... but I wonder if there's any connection between those two? Demeon and Dimitris?" asked _Carousel_ -"But it's also written in here that soul seekers who turned into soul stealers can never return to their original self and that they will forever bear their horrible image... permanently." Said _Carousel_ as she pulls her eyebrows down while reading the book… -"But now, I'm not so sure anymore if Dimitris is really is in fact - Mischief... if only I have read this whole book" Said _Carousel_ to herself.

-"Did Demeon write in that book why he wanted the 'Great War' to take place?"

-"It's not written in here, but I read about that in the other half of this book... I read that, the reason why Demeon wanted a great war to happen... is to separate the gifted ones; the 'splitters' from the ordinary Erishans, because he got tired of looking around the whole world just to search for a 'splitter's' soul to consume... and he knew that when a war will take place... the majority of ordinary Erishans will die and the remaining hidden 'splitters' of this world will always find their own ways to survive the war because of their god given talents. He knew that most of the Erishans who will survive the 'Great War' are 'splitters'... and he's right, more than eighty percent of the Erishans who survived in this planet from the great war right now are splitters, he didn't care if millions of ordinary Erishans were to die, all he wanted was to gather all the 'splitters' of the world for himself, so he could consume their souls... our souls... and that is also the reason why he put up an academy so he could let us develop our talents and produce a much powerful soul, for him to consume." Said _Carousel_ … -"And that is the reason why he captured Emoreh and left him alive for sometime so he could wait for Emoreh's soul to develop." _Carousel_ concluded

-"He really is a devil... he probably thinks that he's someone special that's why he didn't care about the Erishans who didn't have any god given talents to just die... what made him think that he's so special? Nobody's special! We're all the same! The same creatures who fights for our own survival everyday!" cried _Faust_

-"Or, we could all be... special, each and every one of us is special, no two individuals are the same." _Carousel_ interrupted -"Depends on how you look at it." She added

 _Faust_ sighed -"And he even made my father an instrument; of his evil plans..." He added -"He will pay." Said _Faust_ , his words were crumbling. -"It's so hard growing up without any parents to look after you... my mother died when she gave birth to me and my father would still have been alive today if not for him." _Faust_ concluded

-"My mother!" cried _Carousel_ as she remembered her mother. -"I forgot to pay a visit to my mother... I want to see her." _Carousel_ interrupted -"Faust can you come with me to the Ruins of Midgar?"

-"Sure, but..."

-"I know that Heraldin told you to keep me safe once you found me." Interrupted _Carousel_ -"But it's not like its goanna take us too long to find my mother, she's just at the 'Ruins of Midgar' I just need to see her right now."

-"Okay..." said _Faust_ but he seemed to be unmoved.

-"Alright, if you don't want to come..."

-"I didn't say that."

-"I'll go by myself... and don't even try to stop me."

-"I'm coming with you! That's what I said!" said _Faust_ as he presses a series of buttons on his metallic wrist band – to activate 'Rookie'.

 _Faust_ and _Carousel_ then boarded back the vessel – 'Rookie' _Carousel_ was very anxious as they were heading to the 'Ruins of Midgar city'.

-"Are you alright?" asked _Faust_

-"Of course…" replied _Carousel_ but she didn't even convince herself that she was.

Moments later... they have reached the 'Ruins of Midgar'… just outside the prosperous 'city of Midgar'.

Chapter Sixteen "Home again"

 _Carousel_ showed the direction to _Faust_ where she lives but _Faust_ replied... -"Yes, I know where you live…"

 _Carousel_ was taken aback, her eyes flickered.

 _Faust_ tried to clear his throat as he slowly said… -"I... I mean of course... I know where you live, why wouldn't I be? I've seen you here before, because... we have Erishans here asking for our services regarding the telephone connections."

'Rookie' - the floating vessel then softly landed right outside _Carousel's_ shelter.

 _Carousel_ smiled at _Faust_. -"Thanks... at least you didn't need me to complicate things, because I'm really bad at giving directions."

 _Faust_ smiled back at her but he couldn't look into her eyes... and then a loud pound sound was heard from the shelter...

 _Carousel_ then quickly jumped off the vessel and started to look for her mother, inside their shelter... she rushed into their slightly wrecked shelter.

-"Mom... I'm home!" cried _Carousel_ as she was looking for her mother at the ground floor of their building, but there was no reply from her... everywhere she looks was a mess... _Carousel_ then went up the stairs as _Faust_ slowly followed her. _Carousel_ was greeted by the cold winds that got inside by the banging window at her mother's bedroom; then... something caught the side of her eyes, she slowly turned her head to perceive what it was because it was quite dark inside... her eyes slowly narrowed as _Carousel_ was stunned to see… that… 'Conscience' has just ripped open her mother's mouth with his beak-like mandibles. _Carousel_ couldn't speak and couldn't move... the feeling of fear and anger had collided inside her and so she didn't know what to react when she saw her mother being slaughtered by _Conscience_. When _Faust_ saw the situation... he then immediately rammed _Conscience_ through the bedroom walls, as he shoved him through the floors, their fighting was so intense but _Carousel_ just knelt before her mother's body as if there wasn't any intense fighting that was going on around her. _Carousel_ could still hear her mother's breathing... she quickly scrambled to resuscitate her dying mother.

 _Carousel's_ eyes were teary and her voice was shaking as she carried her mother out of the room. -"Mom, stay with me... I'll get you to the city, they could... help..." _Carousel_ said, but she paused as she witnessed the last breath of her mother... ' _Conscience_ ' then glanced at her mother… but _Carousel_ continued to carry her mother down to the ground floor, but then she slowly laid the lifeless body of her mother on the ground. She knelt and slowly looked down as she observed her mother, _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed and moments later she closed them... _Carousel_ then leaned her back at a wall behind her and curbed herself like a ball; her forehead was touching her knees as her arms were wrapped around her legs...

-"Demeon must have ordered that beast to kill my mom." _Carousel_ thought to herself.

 _Faust_ then immediately went downstairs when _Conscience_ had gotten away from their fight. -"Ooohh, I let him get away!" cried _Faust_ with a grunt and a sound of frustration is obvious from his tone as he walks down the stairs, the skin in his arms were bruised again from their fight, partially revealing his mechanical arms... and then he found _Carousel_ there with her lifeless mother.

-"I'm... I'm sorry." _Faust_ slowly said upon seeing the situation.

-"..." but there was no reply from _Carousel_ ; as she was unmoved at the corner; her face remained hidden between her arms.

 _Faust_ then slowly moved closer to her, he tried to comfort her... he slightly rubbed her shoulders with his warm hands as he slowly worked his way to hug her... his chin was now touching _Carousel's_ forehead as he embraced her even tighter, he then slowly placed _Carousel's_ head between his neck and shoulder so he could embrace her more comfortably but then he noticed that _Carousel_ wasn't even crying, there were no traces of tears on her cheeks, her eyes remained closed as she breaths heavily... _Faust_ wanted to ask her, why didn't she even cry? But then he felt that it wasn't appropriate... he just thought that something very unpleasant and painful must have happened between the two of them before... and that might be the reason why _Carousel_ did not even cry over her departed mother. So that is why he didn't bother asking her about it. _Faust_ just covered the dead body with a tattered blanket that he found.

-"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Were the only words that came out from his mouth, his knees were on the ground as he embraced _Carousel_ tightly on the floor, _Carousel_ remained unmoved as her face was buried within _Faust's_ chest until... she felt something hard between _Faust's_... chest. -"What is that?" asked _Carousel_ as she felt a hard object between _Faust's_ chest and her left cheek that had been marked by that object. -"Oh... this?" replied _Faust_ as he took it off from his neck... it was a clock necklace.

-"That's a beautiful... clock necklace." Said _Carousel_ upon seeing it, she then kindly asked _Faust_ if she could take a good look at it and _Faust_ agreed... _Carousel_ held the clock necklace within her palms as she observes it.

-"If you want it, then it's yours." Said _Faust_

-"Oh no, no... No!" _Carousel_ abruptly replied as she hand it back to _Faust_. -"I was just looking at it." She said

-"Why…? Don't you like it?"

-"No, it's not that I don't like it... actually I love it but... it's just that... it's too much to ask for."

-"Carousel... this is not too much to ask for." Replied _Faust_ as he showed his clock necklace to _Carousel_. -"I can give you so much more than this... this is just a clock necklace." _Faust_ pointed out.

-"But aren't you suppose to give that clock necklace to somebody who is special to you?"

-"But... you are special Carousel..." _Faust_ slowly replied -"In fact you are very special to me."

 _Carousel_ unexpectedly blushed upon hearing those words from _Faust_... as she tried to conceal her feelings. -"Thank you... if you feel that way for me." _Carousel_ slowly said as she smiled at _Faust_ and briefly forgot about the horrible situation that had happened. Then _Faust_ slowly put on his clock necklace to _Carousel_ , she unhurriedly tucked her entire hair on the side of her shoulder as she let _Faust_ put on his clock necklace around her neck.

-"It's beautiful... Thank you." Said _Carousel_ as she was looking at it, _Faust_ saw _Carousel_ smile while observing the clock necklace that he had just given her, which made him very happy... but then _Carousel_ was saddened again when she realized the horrible situation that had happened to her mother. _Faust_ then hugged her again. -"It's alright... you will never be alone... I'm always here; I'll never leave you... I won't let those monsters harm you. They'll pay for this!" _Faust_ said as he immediately went outside and was about to ride his vessel – Rookie.

-"Faust…! Where are you going?" cried _Carousel_

-"I'm going after that beast!" replied _Faust_

-"But how will you find him?"

-"At Demeon's manor... that's their obvious hiding place, those monsters."

-"But you can't fight them all... they're too strong. They will kill you too, and besides... that soul stealer 'Conscience' must have informed his master Demeon about this incident now, and they are probably hunting for us right now, so let's just go to Heraldin." _Carousel_ suggested.

-"Trust me, I can take care all of them!"

-"But it would be better if we had Heraldin on our side."

-"No need, I'm going there alone!" said he as he looked very determined to go.

-"But... but..." _Carousel_ slowly said as she tries to think of an excuse to prevent _Faust_ from attaining his sudden... blown out of proportion plan. -"But... you said just now, that you will never leave me." _Carousel_ slowly said

 _Faust_ was taken aback as he slowly stepped out of his vessel and he slowly walked towards _Carousel_. -"You're right, I'm sorry." Said he as he advised _Carousel_ that it would be better for them to just leave the place... _Carousel_ couldn't agree less, so she went with _Faust_ into his vessel. She boarded 'Rookie' still looking very confused about what had just happened to her mother... her eyebrows were pulled down as her face looked very dreary... _Faust_ wanted to comfort her more but hesitated because by doing so he thought that he might just cause some annoyance to _Carousel_ , instead he just drove his vessel and together they headed to _Heraldin's_ shelter.

-"I think you're right... it would be safer for us to go to Heraldin's place right now." Said _Faust_ and _Carousel_ slightly nodded as she was looking through the window of the floating vessel, she was watching the view from the outside. The weather is chaotic as usual... strong winds, loud thunderstorms... and heavy rain started to pour again. Luckily they have boarded 'Rookie' just before the heavy rain poured. And moments later, as the vessel flew and floats a few inches from the surface of the ground, the debris underneath the vessel starts to settle down... giving _Carousel_ a clearer vision of the outside view... it was because 'Rookie' had suddenly stopped.

-"Why did you stop?" asked _Carousel_ , her voice barely fainted.

-"Carousel, look!" cried _Faust_ as he opened the door of his vessel and he stepped outside... _Carousel_ then soon followed... she opened the door at her side which automatically receded through the side walls of the vessel; she then stepped outside too as her eyes widened... and she looks very bewildered.

-"Why... is everything suddenly so calm?" _Carousel_ softly asked... she seems to be baffled as she looked around and saw that everywhere was suddenly quiet... there were no thunderstorms, no signs of strong winds, no heavy rain, and no sign of anything chaotic... earthquakes… just pure tranquility... the turmoil condition of the planet had suddenly disappeared and went away.

-"I know." Replied _Faust_ -"It's kind of weird isn't it… when it should be the other way around…" He concluded as he looked at the clear skies up above. -"It's been such a very long time since I last saw those stars." He said. -"When... I was just a little boy." He added

-"So those are what they call stars?"

-"Yes…"

-"From here, they all look like tiny specks of light... with different colors and different shine, just like what a soul looks like..." said _Carousel_

-"So that's what a soul looks like?"

-"Yes…" replied _Carousel_

 _Faust_ was looking at _Carousel_... while _Carousel's_ eyes remained fixed on the clear dark skies up above. -"This is my first time to experience this kind of serenity... everywhere is so quiet, I wonder why the weather just suddenly turned peaceful... it is, weird." _Carousel_ said as she agreed with _Faust_.

-"But it should be the other way around." _Faust_ abruptly said again -"Around twenty years ago... I remember when I was just a little boy, this was the usual weather, and I used to fly my kite with my father because the winds aren't so violent during those days and not up until now... I wonder why the sudden change." _Faust_ asked himself as he sat under a tree which was near to where they had stopped. The tree was barely alive... it only had a few leaves in it, and most of its branches are wilted.

-"I guess we should just enjoy the serenity of the whole place for the moment, because this kind of tranquility doesn't happen every day you know." Said _Faust_ as he picked out some of the wilted branches of the tree to make himself a bon fire... _Carousel_ then sat beside him... The night was calm, the skies were clear and the wind was just right. _Carousel_ was touching the clock necklace on her neck which _Faust_ had recently given to her… when suddenly; _Carousel_ heard a cold voice...

-"Come... before it awakes..." the voice said, as _Carousel_ looked around to see who it was, but she didn't see anybody around besides _Faust_ who was seating beside her and... 'Rookie' that was parked near the tree where they were seating, _Carousel_ sighed as she asked _Faust_ ; -"Did you hear that?"

-"Hear what?" asked _Faust_ as his eyebrows were pulled down. -"No, I didn't hear anything... why? Are you hearing something again?"

 _Carousel's_ eyes flicker as she looked around again and saw that no one was around there. -"No, it's probably just my imagination." She replied as she just ignored the voice. She then just listened to what _Faust_ was telling her, he was telling her a story... a story about his childhood... but then again _Carousel_ was distracted by that same voice... -"Come... before it awakes..." the voice said to her again. This time... _Carousel_ was startled as she stood up and tries to observe their surroundings...

-"What is it?" He asked, upon seeing _Carousel_ who seemed to be somewhat nervous. -"Are they here?" He asked, as he was pertaining to _Demeon_ and his followers. -"Well, in case they're here, then I'm ready for them... so they better be ready for me…" said _Faust_ as he transformed his mechanical arms into a Gatling gun and a sharp sphere.

-"No, I don't think it's them... I... I just heard a voice... and it's asking me to come... before it awakes."

-"What voice…? Who's voice?"

-"I don't know... If I knew, then I'll probably not be looking around am I…?"

-"But nobody's around here, except you and me and... Rookie." Said _Faust_ as his arms that turned into a Gatling gun and a sharp sphere... are slowly transforming back to its original arm form

-"I know."

-"But who will you come to?"

-"I don't know..."

-"What... what... will awaken…?"

-"Faust, I don't know!" cried _Carousel_ -"All I know is that I heard a voice, and it was calling me... it was asking me to come to it."

-"Hmm... You sure can hear some Erishans around here somewhere." Said _Faust_ as he looked around and observed the vast plains of the barren land. He slowly looked around but noticed that there was really nobody else around besides the two of them and Rookie.

-"Look up." The voice whispered again to _Carousel_

 _Carousel_ was taken aback, as she quickly looked up the clear skies and saw that a star is shining distinctively... it glows differently from the other stars, it is the biggest yet dimmest star visible through the night skies, _Carousel_ then narrowed her eyes to focus on that immense object up in the skies. -"Is that where you want me to go?" She softly asked and that star started to glow even brighter as if it was saying… yes to _Carousel_ as if it understood what _Carousel_ had asked.

-"Faust, I think I know where that voice wants me to go."

-"Really…? Where…?" asked _Faust_ as he was looking very anxious at _Carousel_

-"It wants me to go there." Said _Carousel_ as she pointed out through the clear night skies the star that is twinkling differently from the rest…

-"Are you serious?" asked _Faust_ with a slight laugh. -"That's it; you need to rest and sleep." He added -"You are now hallucinating because you're tired."

-"But I'm not!"

-"Yes, you are!"

-"I said... I'm not! Okay... if you don't believe me, that's fine... but I'm not hallucinating and I am sure that I heard a voice... and it wants me to go there!" said _Carousel_

-"But... but, that's a star... how can you possibly go there? That's millions of miles away from here... and how can you even get out from this planet? Look!" said _Faust_ as he pointed out through the clear night skies the millions of asteroids that are closely encircling their planet. -"A floating vessel will surely be crushed into pieces once it makes contact and collides to those millions of asteroids." He concluded as they both looked up and observed the millions of asteroids that are viscously encircling their planet, the asteroids became visible because the skies had cleared, the dark clouds that were covering them suddenly disappeared. -"And you can't possibly go near that thing, you'll die. It's a star, it's like our own 'Asterie', it looks dying and fading but it's still very very hot…" _Faust_ added -"But, wait a second..." he said as he paused for awhile and tries to think. -"Now I remember! That's not a star!" cried he

 _Carousel_ pulled her eyebrows down. -"Then, what is that?" she asked looking confused

-"That's a planet..." replied _Faust_ -"My father told me that - that is a planet just like our own planet 'Eris', I remember... I used to stare at that planet when I was just a little boy, it shines like a star but it's not, it's actually a planet." He replied

-"Oh... so that's the planet that workstation was telling me." Cried _Carousel_

-"What workstation…? So you know about that planet too?"

-"Yes, I learned it from the workstation at the research laboratory I was telling you. The egg shaped thing that was suspended at the research lab, remember…?" Replied _Carousel_

 _Faust_ just nodded…

-"I didn't really believe it at first that there is actually a planet outside our world because I couldn't see it but... now I believe it because I can actually see that planet." said _Carousel_ -"Well... are there Erishans just like us who are also living in there?"

-"Maybe... I don't know, nobody really knows about that... because nobody from this planet has ever succeeded to go there… because of those asteroids…" said _Faust_ … -"But one thing I do remember my father told me is that – that planet is also a habitable planet just like ours... it's just that... scientists from here can only observe that planet, but they cannot venture to that planet... because of those asteroids." _Faust_ explained again

-"I forgot what that workstation told me... but I remember that they did make a name for that planet... Did your father tell you its name?"

 _Faust_ narrowed his eyes as he tries to remember. -"Ah... he told me that... planet is called - Iris."

-"Iris…?"

-"Yes"

-"Oh yes, Iris... now I remember, that work station said it too." Said _Carousel_ … -"Iris... too bad I can't do what you want me to do..." _Carousel_ whispered to herself as she looked up through the night skies.

-"But... we could try to go there if you want?" _Faust_ slowly suggested as he saw _Carousel_ who seemed to be looking somewhat denounced.

-"But I thought you said that it'll be dangerous to pass through those asteroids? That's why nobody from this world has ever attempted to get out from this planet."

-"I know... but Rookie doesn't need to pass through those asteroids... it can teleport... remember?" said _Faust_ as he only wanted to make _Carousel_ happy, doing things even to the extreme.

-"You said that Rookie could only teleport to places where it had already been... and couldn't... go to places where it had never been."

-"I know, but you see... the reason why Rookie can't teleport to places it had never been is because... Rookie can't see that place, but if I direct Rookie to a certain place that it can see..." said _Faust_ as he maneuvered his floating vessel towards that planet... 'Iris'. -"Then Rookie can absolutely teleport us to that place." _Faust_ concluded but he couldn't even convince himself that he was telling the truth, because he too is unsure if what he had just suggested will actually work... and he slowly said -"And also... the reason why I told you that... is because I want to... enjoy the moment with you... I just didn't want to journey in a nick of time without even talking to you."

 _Carousel_ did not know what to answer; she was taken aback by _Faust's_ words again. She wanted to look into his eyes but she wavered several times. -"You only have such kind words for me Faust... I'm... I'm so thankful to have someone so special like you." Said _Carousel_ as she smiled at _Faust_ , she couldn't look straight at him because she wasn't sure if her answer had sufficed his kind words for her.

 _Faust's_ eyes flickered and he smiled at her too, but his smile was hesitant as he slowly looked down... he was hoping that _Carousel_ would compliment him the same, but she did not... say another word, now his lips were pressed in a thin line as he looked back up at _Carousel_. -"So... do you still want to go to that planet and give this 'Rookie' a try?" He asked

-"Only... if you would come with me."

-"But of course, I wouldn't let you go there alone and besides... you don't know how to drive this thing." Said _Faust_ as he gave 'Rookie' a tap… -"But why would that voice ask you to go to that planet anyway…?"

-"Because it wants to tell me something… I guess…"

-"But why can't it just tell you right now what it wants to tell you... if it wants privacy, well, I can't even hear what that thing is saying so why do you even have to go there?"

-"I don't know... I guess I don't have a choice."

 _Faust_ looked very anxious as he took a quick glance at planet 'Iris' through the clear night skies. And as they were boarding _Faust's_ floating vessel, _Carousel_ couldn't take her eyes off of him... her eyes were full of appreciation towards him, she couldn't believe that _Faust_ would actually risk his own life and 'Rookie's' just to follow her will. -"Why…? What's the matter?" asked _Faust_ upon seeing _Carousel_ looking at him very compassionately.

-"Nothing, I just want to ask you, if you could teach me how to operate this thing?"

 _Faust_ sighed -"Well, okay... this is how it works..." He said as he showed _Carousel_ how to fly his floating vessel and how to use the teleportation mode.

-"Oh, so that's how this thing works?" she asked

-"Yes…"

-"Faust, can I ask you a favor?"

-"Sure…"

-"Can you let me try this on?" _Carousel_ asked as she was pertaining to _Faust's_ metallic band which also serves as a control for 'Rookie'. -"Because I would just like to know what it feels like to control Rookie with that… if... you... don't mind?" she said

-"Why?" asked _Faust_ , while he was looking intrigued at _Carousel_. But then he handed it to _Carousel_. -"Well alright, here you go." He said as he put it around her wrist. -"If you want to learn everything there is to learn then this is how this thing works." He said as he presses a series of buttons to demonstrate _Carousel_ how his metallic band works. _Carousel_ was just looking at how he was teaching her… and moments later, she learned everything _Faust_ had taught her.

-"Oh, I forgot something." _Carousel_ interrupted

-"What is it?"

-"Demeon's book of life, I left it at that tree over there." _Carousel_ said as she pointed out the tree where they had just rested at.

-"Don't worry, just stay here... I'll go get it." Said _Faust_

-"Thank you…" Replied _Carousel_

 _Faust_ then immediately went there to go get it, but when he got there... he couldn't see where _Demeon's_ 'book of life' was... -"I can't find it here." He said as he was looking around that tree. -"Are you sure you left it here?" He again asked but then he heard a sound... a sound that his vessel is about to take flight, he turned around to see and found that _Carousel_ had locked herself in his vessel and she was about to leave.

-"Carousel…! What do you think you're doing?!" cried _Faust_ as he rushed back to his vessel. He knocked heavily through its windows... -"Where are you going?"

-"I'm going to planet 'Iris' alone." Said _Carousel_ as her voice was barely heard...

-"You're crazy..."

-"I'll be back." Replied _Carousel_...

-"But I thought you just said you wanted me to come with you?"

-"I don't want you to get involved with my silly decisions, it's too risky and you are too important for me." Said _Carousel_ but _Faust_ can barely hear her, as she maneuvered 'Rookie' and headed for planet Iris... moments later... Rookie lit up and disappeared... _Carousel_ had used Rookie's teleportation mode, leaving _Faust_ wondering through the vast plains of that barren place. And he was unsure whether 'Rookie' had really taken _Carousel_ to planet Iris... he just looked up through the night skies, stared at planet 'Iris' and he cried _Carousel's_ name... but his cries only echoed through the rocky mountains as it slowly faded away... _Faust_ was left there in complete fear for _Carousel_.

Chapter Seventeen "Soul entity"

Meanwhile, _Carousel_ had made it into the planet 'Iris'... 'Rookie' had successfully teleported her there, _Carousel_ couldn't believe that she had actually made it in there, the place was somewhat like planet 'Eris', but only calmer and more peaceful. -"Am I actually in Iris?" _Carousel_ asked herself as she opened the doors of the vessel and stepped outside; she looked around and looked up through the skies. -"I am here!" She cried as she saw planet 'Eris' through the skies, covered with millions of asteroids that are viciously encircling it. She then again looked around and observed that the planet is fertile, and the lands are lush with vegetation. -"This is a much better place to live in." _Carousel_ thought to herself as she softly said; -"I'm... I'm here... I'm really here." she slowly and quietly said.

Then a silhouette of light gradually appeared in front of her... and it was floating on midair.

-"Are you the one who called for me?" asked _Carousel_ upon seeing the entity that had suddenly appeared in front of her. She raised her right arm to shade her eyes from the extreme light that had appeared in front of her. -"What are you?" she asked anxiously

-"Yes..." it slowly answered -"I called for you... to warn you... that you must not let it consume you..." it slowly said in a deep voice, _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed, as she immediately thought of _Demeon_ , and she tried to look at the entity but could not clearly see it because it is shining so brightly, even with her sharp senses she couldn't clearly picture out the entity, her eyes hurts when she tries to look at it.

-"The only way to destroy it... is to lure it to the Devourer". The entity said as _Carousel_ instinctively looked up through the skies to search for that thing-that entity was saying, as she tried narrowing her eyes to focus her sight on the vast plains of the universe and then she saw from a far distance... a disturbance on the cosmic clouds... something very huge seems to be moving, and it seems as it is consuming everything on its path... it looks like a colossal black hole.

-"Is that... the Devourer?" _Carousel_ slowly asked…

-"Yes…"

-"That's the 'dark spiral' that the workstation is talking about…" _Carousel_ thought to her self… -"What is that thing…?" she asked

-"Everything in the universe has a destroyer… and that one is ours…" it replied

 _Carousel's_ tone was unsure if she would be asking the same question again... but then she did... -"What are you?" _Carousel_ asked again... -"Are you a God?"

-"I'm... a soul... and this planet is my body..." the entity answered…

-"Well… do you have a name…?"

-"I do not need a name…" answered the soul entity… as it was not speaking directly at _Carousel_ … but instead it was speaking through her mind.

There were so many questions _Carousel_ wanted to ask but... the entity which is a silhouette of light quickly told her to go back to planet 'Eris'.

-"It starts to awaken... go back now..." said the entity as it magically strode _Carousel_ back to 'Rookie'...

-"What is going to awaken?" asked _Carousel_ as she was hauled into the vessel... and she did not get a reply from the soul entity... _Carousel_ just then looked out from the vessel's window and she could see planet 'Eris' from the skies.

-"Go!" cried the soul entity –"Remember, don't let it consume you."

 _Carousel_ then pressed a series of buttons to activate the teleportation mode again as she went back to planet 'Eris'... 'Rookie' lit up and quickly disappeared. 'Rookie' came back to planet 'Eris'... _Carousel_ stepped out of the vessel, she was panting as she looked around... the place was familiar... it was because she was teleported back again at _Faust's_ underground shelter.

-"I knew you would be here." Said a voice at her back... but the voice was familiar and so _Carousel_ turned around to see... and it was _Faust_.

-"How did you get back here so fast?" asked _Carousel_ as she was catching her breath...

-"I transformed my mechanical arms into wheels... and made myself look like a motorcycle." Replied _Faust_ as he was also panting. -"Don't you ever… ever do that to me again…" He strongly said -"What happened to you? Did you find what you were looking for?"

-"Yes... I saw a... a... I mean I didn't really actually saw what it was because it was shining so bright... but it was a silhouette of light... and it said that it was a soul... and that... planet 'Iris' was its body... it warns me not to be consumed by Demeon..." said _Carousel_...

And then... a series of loud thunderstorms were suddenly heard again from the outside...

-"I guess the weather condition is back." Said _Faust_... -"I think I'm more use to this kind of condition." He added -"So that's it? That's what it told you? Did it actually spoke to you…?"

-"Yes... but it wasn't like as if it was really talking to me, because I can't see if it even has a mouth or lips or something… all I know is that... that soul was making sounds which I can inexplicably understand and I don't know why… and whatever its reasons are... for asking me to go to planet Iris... is... it definitely did not want it to be heard by Demeon."

 _Faust_ looked very worried. -"We have to think of a plan right now, because Demeon is obviously not to be underestimated... and then there's three more... there's so many of them... what must we do?"

-"Hmm... Before, we didn't know what Demeon's weakness is... because he didn't write it down here in his… book of life. But now we know his weakness…"

-"But why would he… be writing about it?" _Faust_ quickly interrupted. -"Then he will just be putting his own life in jeopardy." He added

-"But of course… but at least now… we know how to destroy him… it's just that I never expected that it would be that complicated to kill him… to lead him to the 'Devouerer'… but at least we now know what the three other soul stealer's weaknesses are... so I think we should first look for their book of lives... and then when we find them, we destroy them, we must burn those books.. so when we kill those soul stealers... they won't have anything to look for their memories once they get back to life... they will be alive again but at least they won't have any memories of their past life, maybe then they could go back on being a soul seeker again, instead of a soul stealer."

-"Well... I just hope that your plans and your speculations are true... but I guess we don't have much choice."

-"That's why we need to get those books now."

-"Meaning... we need to go back to that manor?"

-"I guess so... but then I guess we should go to Heraldin's shelter first."

-"Okay..." said _Faust_

Together they quickly boarded 'Rookie' again and the two conversed in the vessel. They were heading again at _Heraldin's_ shelter.

-"So... what does it look like out there? At planet Iris…?" Asked _Faust_

-"Pretty much just like here, but only the weather is much calmer."

-"Is it habitable?"

-"I think so... because I wouldn't be able to get back here if it wasn't livable out there... right?"

-"So... my father was right... that world is habitable..."

-"Yes... that world is also habitable just like ours; if only we could travel there safely... you would know how it is out there, if not only for those asteroids..." said _Carousel_ as she looked up through the skies. -"Why are those asteroids even up there in the first place?" asked _Carousel_ as she couldn't clearly see where the asteroids are now because the skies are covered with dark rain clouds again. –"The workstation at the academy stated that it was because of the two moons of this planet that collided with each other… thousands of years ago." said _Carousel_ as she answered her own question…

 _Faust_ slightly narrowed his eyes and nodded -"That's not actually the case for Rookie... because Rookie had transported you there... at planet Iris and those asteroids was not a problem for Rookie... the fact of the matter is... planet Iris is rarely seen nowadays... and Rookie needs to see where it is heading first before making a teleportation pace." Explained _Faust_

-"You're right! I can't see planet Iris from here anymore..." _Carousel_ concluded.

-"It's because of those dark gray clouds that are out there again." Replied _Faust_ …

And as they were heading for _Heraldin's_ shelter, _Carousel_ started to read through the pages of _Demeon's_ 'book of life' again... she turned the pages... but this time... slowly. _Carousel's_ eyes widened as she read something on the page... -"This page here... tells something about Mischief..." she said as she points her index finger through the lines that she was reading... -"I must have overlooked this part..." she added

-"What does it say?" asked _Faust_

-"Mischief... is in fact... Dimitris." _Carousel_ slowly read as her eyes widened. -"I knew it... Dimitris couldn't have been just an innocent employee to Demeon." _Carousel_ added

-"That monster!" cried _Faust_ -"Now I have a reason to impair that monster... I have had always wanted to get my hands on that annoying shaman... now there's no reason for me not to." _Faust_ said as he tightly closed his fist.

-"And it also says here that... Dimitris is... Demeon's… only son." Said _Carousel_ upon reading the further written information on _Demeon's_ 'book of life'…

-"What?" cried _Faust_ … -"He's Demeon's son?"

-"Yes, and Demeon doesn't want Dimitris to know about it... because Dimitris might take revenge upon him if he knew that Demeon was actually the one who killed his mother." Said _Carousel_ as she was reading the parts were _Mischief_ was the subject of _Demeon's_ revelation. -"And that is the reason why Dimitris chose to be a soul stealer instead of a soul seeker because he wanted to consume the soul of his mother's perpetrator."

-"So Dimitris was a good Erishan before?"

-"Yes… he was probably a good 'soul seeker' before… because that's where it all starts… a soul seeker who consumes a soul will turn into a soul stealer."

-"Who would have thought that a monster like Demeon could have gotten himself a child like Dimitris... but then again the irony is that Dimitris had turned out to be just like his father after all." Said _Faust_ with a slight laugh

-"Dimitris is... the soul stealer – Mischief after all... and for him to be able to disguise himself into an Erishan, he must had have a shape shifting skill... which he must have gotten and inherited that skill to his evil father Demeon." Said _Carousel_

-"Of course…" Replied _Faust_

-"We have to inform all the 'splitters' of the academy... that it's not safe for them to be training in there anymore, the only reason why Demeon had put up the academy is just so he could steal and consume all the souls of the splitters in his academy." Said _Carousel_ -"The academy to help the 'splitters' to enhance their skills is just a diversion so not to expose the real tactics of those 'soul stealers'…" added _Carousel_

-"I know, but you're right we need Heraldin's help... and at least we know that we could trust him." Said _Faust_

Moments later... they have reached the 'Ruin city of Harlow' and _Carousel_ was very eager to see if _Heraldin_ had already found _Rachael_... and as they reached _Heraldin's_ shelter... _Carousel_ quickly jumped out from 'Rookie' and headed straight at the shelter. They saw _Heraldin's_ floating vessel parked outside his shelter.

-"He's here." Said _Faust_ upon seeing _Heraldin's_ floating vessel.

 _Faust_ then knocked on the door as he turned the knob, but the door wasn't locked... the door was opened... so they just let themselves in.

-"Heraldin!" called _Faust_ as he searched for him inside the shelter.

-"Rachael... we're here!" cried _Carousel_

-"I'm goanna go at the lower shelter... and check if he's there." _Faust_ suggested

-"Okay." Replied _Carousel_

So _Faust_ immediately went down to go and check for _Heraldin_ at the lower shelter... while _Carousel_ stayed behind at the upper shelter, as she went straight to _Rachael's_ room... and was hoping that _Rachael_ was there… _Carousel_ was relieved but couldn't smile as she found _Rachael_ there sitting at her bed looking very worried for her. _Carousel's_ eyes were watery and her face was pale... _Carousel_ then immediately walked towards _Rachael_ and without even saying a word they both hugged each other, _Rachael_ knew what _Carousel_ had just been through so she hugged her even tighter... and tears started to flow from _Carousel's_ cheeks.

-"I'm so glad that you are here… they killed my mother..." said _Carousel_ as her voice was shaking...

-"I can see that... I'm sorry..." replied _Rachael_ as she gently stroke _Carousel's_ forehead.

-"I didn't see a speck of light that came out from my mother's mouth." _Carousel_ confoundedly said… -"I didn't see her soul." _Carousel_ added

-"..." _Rachael_ was brought to silence; as she did not know what to reply... she just kept her embrace on _Carousel_ even tighter. -"Maybe you just didn't see it." She cautiously said…

-"But I was there when Conscience took her life; he too was waiting for her soul to come out from her mouth." _Carousel_ explained

-"But... but how can that happen?"

-"I... I... don't know." _Carousel_ slowly replied as _Rachael_ slowly wiped the tears that were flowing from her cheeks. –"My mother didn't have a soul…?" _Carousel_ asked herself feeling doubtful about the whole scenario.

 _Carousel_ was so tired so she then lay on the bed... _Rachael_ did not bother to ask _Carousel_ anything anymore because she knew that _Carousel_ was really telling her the truth and it would be the best thing for her to be just quiet for now… _Carousel_ then slowly closed her eyes and she unconsciously starts to sleep. She began to have that same old dream of hers again... when she was asleep…

She was walking up on that circular staircase again... and when she reached the top... the floating liquid mirror like object revealed yet another... image which _Carousel_ couldn't familiarize... so she slowly walked near that object as her eyes narrowed... then the wobbly liquid mirror like object started to settle... revealing a silhouette of a female _Erishan's_ face... _Carousel_ couldn't clearly see the image but she can distinguish that the silhouette figure was looking at her furiously... its eyes were glazing.

Meanwhile... _Faust_ found _Heraldin_ at the control area of the huge combat vessel... he was standing there at the control panel with his back facing _Faust_ as _Faust_ entered the area and _Heraldin_ seems to be searching for something.

-"Heraldin!" cried _Faust_ as he was slightly panting.

 _Heraldin_ turned around to see Faust. -"Did you find Carousel?" asked _Heraldin_

-"Yes... she's up at the shelter." replied _Faust_ -"What are you doing here?" He asked

-"I'm trying to find Rachael, with this workstation... and I'm glad that you have fixed this... thank you." Said _Heraldin_ to _Faust_

 _Faust_ just nodded

-"I've looked everywhere for her, I went to the academy, and I even went to the Ruins of Goban Shrine... but she's nowhere to be found." _Heraldin_ added -"That's why I'm trying to look for her with this workstation... but still I can't find her using this."

 _Faust_ narrowed his eyes... -"I think... I heard her when Carousel went into her room..." He said

-"Really…?"

-"No, I'm not sure... but have you checked her room before you left?"

-"Yes, I did... but I did not check on her room as soon as I got back here, but I'm pretty sure that she wasn't there." _Heraldin_ said as he wasn't even convinced of what he had just said… he then left the workstation of the combat vessel and was about to check on _Rachael_ at the upper shelter.

-"How can you find her there?" asked _Faust_ as he was pertaining to the workstation of the huge combat vessel which also serves as the control mechanism of the entire combat vessel.

-"They used to input all the necessary information of every living and dead Erishans in this world in that computer... for whatever purpose they had." said _Heraldin_ as he pointed out the control panel of the vessel. -"And every possible Erishan that has information about them also has a built-in 'GPS' implanted in their bodies... a tiny electronic capsule is embedded in their elbows near the forearm and that's the reason why their whereabouts can be tracked." Explained _Heraldin_ -"I was just trying my luck even though I knew that they couldn't have possibly included Rachael's information in there because she was obviously born after the 'Great War' happened... and for all I know, she was never been implanted with a GPS in her forearm, and this huge combat vessel crashed here even before that Great War had happened… but like I said, I was just trying my luck." _Heraldin_ explained as he quickly left the control area and headed through _Rachael's_ room at the upper shelter... _Faust_ then followed closely behind him.

 _Faust_ pulled both his eyebrows down. -"Why do I have a feeling that Heraldin sometimes doesn't seem to know her own daughter…" _Faust_ thought to himself as he followed _Heraldin_. -"Demeon and his bunch of soul stealers are behind Serrot's murder." Cried _Faust_ -"And Demeon was also the beast whom you have encountered with at the Ruins of Goban Shrine" He added as they were quickly heading for the upper shelter.

-"How did you know all of these?" asked _Heraldin_

-"Carousel told me…"

-"I'm not surprised." Replied _Heraldin_ -"I've searched up on Demeon's profile on that computer but there wasn't any information posted related to him... whereas he should be one of the Erishans that must have a complete information about themselves... because considering his connections to the top officials of this world before the 'Great War' happened." _Heraldin_ added -"I knew there was something suspicious about that... Demeon…" _Heraldin_ concluded

-"He really is one hell of a school's predecessor!" _Faust_ slightly grunted... but then his mood suddenly changed from irritated to upset... his tone was very gloomy... -"A soul stealer named Conscience killed Carousel's mother." Said _Faust_ as he slowly looked down… -"And that might be your friend Isoah who did it…" _Faust_ added as he felt a little bit bothered about _Carousel_ because he didn't even see _Carousel_ cried when her mother was murdered.

 _Heraldin_ was taken aback... his eyes widened as he heavily sighed; he then walked even faster heading for the upper shelter. He rushed in through _Rachael's_ room and found _Carousel_ sleeping at her daughter's bed, but then _Carousel_ awoke when she heard that somebody had walked into _Rachael's_ room, and she slightly curved to see who it was...

-"Carousel... are... are you alright?" asked _Heraldin_ as he entered _Rachael's_ bedroom.

-"Yes, I'm fine now."

-"I'm sorry about what happened to your mother." Said _Heraldin_

 _Carousel_ looked into _Heraldin's_ eyes as she slightly nodded then she turned her back at him and then she laid her head on the pillow and remained laying there for awhile.

 _Heraldin_ stroke her head from behind… -"We are just here... if you need us." Said _Heraldin_ as he read the reason why _Carousel_ did not even cry when her mother was killed, it was because she was shocked and she couldn't believe that she did not see a soul that came out from her mother's mouth…

-"Thank you..." _Carousel_ softly replied… -"Where's Rachael…?" she asked as she slowly looked around the room.

-"I was about to ask you the same." Said _Heraldin_

-"But she was just here a moment ago."

 _Heraldin_ slowly looked around the room... and then the bedroom door opened and _Rachael_ came in from that door.

-"Where were you? Where have you been?" Cried _Heraldin_ upon seeing _Rachael_ as he approached and hugged his daughter… -"I would never forgive myself if something bad happens to you... and I can't afford to lose you again."

-"Again?" asked _Rachael_ in a confuse manner.

-"Never mind." replied _Heraldin_ -"The important thing is that... you are here and you're safe, and that's what matters to me."

-"But I was just here awhile ago." Replied _Rachael_ as her eyebrows were pulled up.

-"What's that?" _Heraldin_ unexpectedly asked as he saw an unfamiliar large book laid at the table... he then released _Rachael_ from his embrace and he walked towards that book... _Heraldin_ picked it up and started to read the pages... -"This is a..." he slowly said

-"That's Demeon's book of life." _Carousel_ abruptly said

 _Heraldin_ then dropped the book. -"I can't read this!" He cried

-"Why?" asked Carousel

-"Because that's a soul stealer's book of life…" Replied _Heraldin_

-"So..., what…?"

-"I can't bear to read the things that he might have written about... how he had killed and consumed the souls of his victims."

And then _Carousel_ started to read the pages of the book. -"Yes, Demeon did in fact wrote a lot of gruesome things he had done in his life, and I just have to know." Said _Carousel_

 _Heraldin_ was reluctant to see _Carousel_ reading a soul stealer's book of life but then... he got curious and decided to read the book himself.

-"Carousel is also a soul seeker like you father... but she doesn't seem to be affected like you are." Said _Rachael_

-"I know..." replied _Heraldin_ as he took the book from _Carousel_ … -"May I…?" he asked

-"Sure...here..." said _Carousel_ as she handed the book of life to _Heraldin_... _Heraldin_ then started to read the pages...

-"So... these are the things that are written in his 'book of life'... more like the 'book of death', poor creature... I can't read more of these…" said _Heraldin_... as he was reading through the pages... and then... he noticed that a couple of pages were torn and missing from the bottom part of the book... _Carousel_ then told him that she and _Demeon_ had actually fought for the possession of that book, which is why it was torn into two pieces... _Carousel_ then told everything that had happened to them to _Heraldin_.

-"Hmm..." sighed _Heraldin_ as he was keen to examine the last pages of the book... the last words he was able to read at the book was the line – "It's time to gather them around..." _Heraldin's_ eyes narrowed as he read those words... -"What does Demeon mean by... - It's time to gather them around?" He thought to himself... as he paused for a while and was walking back and fort, back and fort trying to know what _Demeon_ meant by what he had written, and moments later, he had an idea what it is... -"I think Demeon will gather all the 'splitters' in this world." _Heraldin_ concluded.

 _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ then looked at each other... their eyes were filled with uncertainty but they both felt that _Heraldin_ might be right with his presumption.

-"I think... he's up to something." Said _Heraldin_ as he was trying to see the future… but he couldn't foresee it for an unknown reason… -"I guess some of my skills don't work on soulless creatures…" _Heraldin_ thought to him self…

-"We think so too..." replied _Carousel_

The door was open and _Faust_ was at the doorstep; listening to their conversation... his arms were entwined as he rests his back at the wall of the corridor, his head slightly facing down... his left foot was also bent at the wall to give him balance... but then suddenly he thrust his left foot away from the wall to release himself from taking a break... then he walked away... moments later they heard the front door slightly banged.

-"Where is he going?" asked _Carousel_ upon seeing _Faust_ walked away... then she followed him out of the shelter... _Faust_ is about to ride his floating vessel, when suddenly…

-"Faust, where are you going…?" _Carousel_ anxiously asked

-"..." Faust just glanced at her but he did not reply.

Then someone interrupted... -"You can't go there alone." Said... _Heraldin_ as he read _Faust's_ mind... because he too followed _Faust_ out of the shelter... -"I'm coming with you." He said... _Carousel_ then momentarily looked back to see a glimpse of _Heraldin_... subsequently she knew what _Heraldin_ was talking about... she then faced _Faust_ again and told him that she too is coming with him. _Faust_ then didn't have a choice... _Carousel_ quickly boarded 'Rookie'...

-"Heraldin... Rachael, come! Let's go!" cried _Carousel_

-"No, I'm riding my own vessel!" _Heraldin_ replied -"Because it would be better if we had two vessels just in case the other one gets destroyed."

 _Faust's_ lips were pressed in a thin line as he was sure that it's not his 'Rookie' that will be destroyed… if ever there are such circumstances…

 _Heraldin_ suggested -"Faust, just lead the way and I will follow." Said _Heraldin_

-"Okay!"

-"Then let's all go to that manor!" _Heraldin_ cried

And they all boarded their designated vessels; _Carousel_ having boarded with _Faust_ in his 'Rookie' and _Rachael_ boarded her father's floating vessel.

Chapter Eighteen "The Purging"

-"Let's take them by surprise... then we'll destroy them together with their book of lives ... then let's see if they could still come back to life after that." Said _Faust_ as they all agreed to destroy it if they found a soul stealer's book of life... _Faust_ immediately activated his vessel and headed for _Demeon's_ manor... _Heraldin_ soon followed close behind, it was almost daybreak when they decided to go... but their sun – 'Asterie' can barely shine a light, that's why it still looks like midnight even though it is already at dawn... the winds were strong as usual and minor earthquakes started to occur again... _Heraldin_ was very anxious; he wanted to let the people of _Eris_ know who _Demeon_ really is. The four of them wanted to warn all the _Erishans_ what _Demeon_ are planning for them, specially the _splitters_... _Heraldin_ was so worried for all the people of _Eris_. Then soon after when they reached _Midgar_ city... _Carousel_ took notice of her fellow _splitters_ who were all very eager to go to 'Stellar Academy' to train, there was so many of them... probably hundreds of them... those were the most that the three of them; _Carousel_ , _Faust_ and _Rachael_ had ever seen... _Carousel_ was used to see only a handful of _splitters_ who are coming to the academy to train every day.

-"But why are there so many 'splitters' that are coming to the academy right now?" asked _Carousel_ -"I have never witnessed these much of 'splitters' wanting to train there... we need to warn them..." she said

-"And so... do... I…" _Faust_ abruptly replied -"I've never seen this much of 'splitters' either... and some of them... I've never seen and known of… and some of them I've never quite seen in years... until now." _Faust_ concluded -"Why the sudden rush? What's going on here?" asked _Faust_ as he stopped his floating vessel on the street, where the roads were covered with sheets of super steel metals. He then stepped out from his vessel and asked some of the 'splitters' who were heading to the academy but they were also quick to walk... away from him.

-"Why are you all avoiding ... me?" asked _Faust_ as he was quickly interrupted by one of his fellow _splitters_...

-"You're Faust..." said one of the _splitters_ who was fast walking towards the academy but had stopped for awhile to speak to _Faust_ …

-"Yes... and you mustn't go in there at the academy, it's not safe for each and every one of you to go there..." said _Faust_ -"Listen! All of you...!" cried _Faust_ as he addressed them all... -"That academy is being run by soul stealers...!"

-"Dimitris was right... you are ungrateful!" interrupted the splitter who stopped for awhile to speak to him -"And now, you're even trying to discredit them by telling us that they are soul stealers...?"

-"But they are!"

-"Faust... you have not become what you are now... if it wasn't for them... you're so ungrateful." said one of the _splitters_ -"Now... if you could just go away... because you are blocking our way..." the _splitter_ added -"So we could all proceed to the academy." The _splitter_ said as _Faust_ was standing on their way... thwarting their way into the entrance of the 'Stellar Academy'...

-"What did Dimitris tell you... what did he tell all of you?" asked _Faust_... as his face was showing some frustrations, seeing all the _splitters_ just walking towards the academy.

-"..." But nobody replied... they just proceeded to where they were heading, bumping their shoulder's at _Faust's_ as they were heading – at the 'Stellar Academy'...

-"We need to let them know... that they are in great danger!" cried _Carousel_... as the _splitters_ were just ignoring them as they passes them by... as if they weren't there.

-"I know..." replied _Faust_

-"We've got to do something..."

 _Heraldin_ interrupted -"You two... just go with them." He said -"It would be better if we split up... you two..." said _Heraldin_ as he was looking at _Faust_ and _Carousel_... -"Just follow those splitters, and check what the affair is all about... and Rachael... I want you to go with them too..." _Heraldin_ ordered

-"But where are you going?" asked _Rachael_

-"I'm going to that manor." Replied _Heraldin_ -"I have been longing to meet up with an old friend..." He added -"Faust... where's Demeon's manor?" asked he

-"Before you get to Lake Midgar... just turn to the right... where there seems to be a dead end cliff... but that cliff is just a diversion, an illusion to hide the mansion, at the foot of that cliff... there are bushes and shrubs... go inside that cave like forest and it will lead you to the manor..." replied _Faust_

 _Heraldin_ nodded and went straight ahead to do his task.

Meanwhile... _Carousel_ , _Faust_ and _Rachael_ immediately followed the _splitters_ who are heading to the academy... _Faust_ saw one of his familiar senior splitters amongst the crowd who now resides in his own and _Faust_ decided to have a talk with him...

-"Why are you all here? What's going on?" asked _Faust_

-"Didn't you know?" replied the senior _splitter_

-"Know what?"

-"Dimitris told all the shamans of the academy to inform us all splitters all over the world to come to the academy at once for there will be a very important matter to be tackled."

-"And what is that concern?"

-"Dimitris didn't specifically inform us about that... he said that we will just have to know about that when we get here... but there are rumors that there will be a great catastrophe that is about to occur and the academy is the safe place to be and the acdemy will also be extending its assistance throughout the other realms in this world which hasn't yet recovered since the Great War... and they say that it's also about how we; the 'splitters' of this world will use our skills to put a stop to the very chaotic weather conditions of our planet... for us to live like we used to be before the 'Great War' had happened... it's about time we figure out a way to solve this problem... we, the people of Eris find it hard to recuperate because of these world's weather conditions."

-"But that is a complete lie!" cried _Faust_ -"Nobody has really ever understood why our world suddenly turned into this very chaotic situation right after the Great War... and don't blame the weather conditions why your lives in your realm are unprogressive... look at Midgar City... why is it progressive here? ... Despite the calamities it is enduring?" asked _Faust_ in a very sturdy tone

-"Because of Demeon…! That's why this city is so progressive." answered the senior splitter with confidence towards his statement…

-"What…? But it's not just Demeon who built the city... but all the people of Midgar city... it's because of these Erishan's resiliency and dedication that's why this city was greatly built, and even if Demeon alone build the entire city - which we all know for a fact that he did not – well... if all the Erishans itself doesn't care about Midgar... then putting it up will lead to nowhere... and don't even listen to Demeon... he's a soul stealer."

-"Now... you are showing no gratitude at all!"

-"But that is the truth... the only reason why Demeon helped the Erishans to build this city is so he could put up the academy and attract a lot of recruits to join his academy... and then he will consume the souls of the 'splitters' who had trained in his school. Demeon targets the strong splitters whom he had sent away... like what he did to Serrot."

-"What exactly did he do to Serrot?" The senior _splitter_ looked somewhat surprised as his tone was doubtful... and he sounded very cynical.

-"So... you didn't know...? Serrot was found dead near one of the abandoned shelters at the ruined city of Harlow, he was barely recognizable... his mouth was reaped open, his skin was crippled and his blood was sucked dry... now tell me... who or what kind of creature on planet Eris could possibly do that? Only soul stealers are known for those kinds of assaults."

-"You are just making that up... soul stealers doesn't exist... they're just myths and rumors that Erishans made... so they could have someone to blame on for those shamans who had suddenly disappeared... and what is your basis for accusing Demeon as a soul stealer?"

 _Faust_ wanted to reply but he was interrupted again by a follow up question of that senior _splitter_ alchemist... -"And let's say that if ever Demeon was in fact a soul stealer – which he is obviously not... and he targets the shamans whom he had sent away... like you say that he is... then why hasn't he come for me yet?... Demeon also drove me away; he said that the Erishans in my realm needs my talents and skills more than this academy does..."

-"Oh, come'on we both know that Demeon was just lying to you... the reason why he sent you away is because you don't have any talents... you didn't show any skill of an alchemist for all the years that you have spent at the academy... so what would he need of you?"

The senior _splitter_ shook his head as his eyes were intensely looking at _Faust_ … -"You are really such an arrogant bastard!" He yelled at _Faust_ as he just proceeded to the academy.

"I'm not a bastard…" said _Faust_ "I have parents who were… whatever…" He concluded to the senior alchemist.

 _Faust_ , _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ were being dismissed by every _splitter_ that passes their way... the _splitters_ doesn't seem to pay attention to the three's assertions towards _Demeon_ and _Dimitris_... they don't believe in everything they say. So the three just went with the flow... they followed the _splitters_ up to the entrance gate of the academy... and while they were on their way... _Carousel_ held a tight grip at _Faust's_ hand...

-"We're running out of ideas... what can we do to convince them? They're just ignoring us... they don't believe in everything we tell them... and if we can't resolve this then what can we do and before we knew it's probably goanna be too late..."

-"Don't lose hope Carousel... let's go, let's hurry, our best chance right now is to go inside the academy and see what the situation is all about."

-"That's your plan?" asked _Rachael_

-"Well... do you have a better idea?"

-"Let's just go!" cried _Carousel_

But as soon as the three of them arrived at the entrance gate of the academy... shamans prevented them from entering the school's premise.

-"I'm afraid you three can't enter this academy anymore..." one of the shamans said as he closed the gate for them while letting the other late splitters sneaked inside at the side of the gate.

-"Why?" asked _Carousel_

-"Dimitris gave us strict orders not to let you three into this academy anymore." Answered one of the shamans…

-"You have to let us in!" cried _Carousel_ -"Demeon and Dimitris are soul stealers... and all of you are in great danger!"

-"That's just what Dimitris had told us those three would be saying." One of the shamans murmured to his fellow shaman.

-"But they are!" cried _Carousel_ as she overheard the whispering done by that shaman. -"If anything bad happens to all of you... don't tell us that we didn't warn you…!" She concluded…

The shamans did not reply as they just ignored her, the shamans were just busy letting the late _splitters_ to come in while thwarting the three of them from going in... -"We are just following orders." Said one of the shamans

-"Come'on, you've got to let us in!" cried _Faust_ while he was banging the entrance gate that is made of super steel grills with elaborate designs.

-"I'm sorry, but you three are not welcome here anymore." Said one of the shamans who were guarding the entrance gate of the academy... he looked around to see if there were still late _splitters_ who would at a halt make it in time for their congregation but he did not see any... -"I guess that's the last one..." He said as the last splitter made it in and so he closes the entrance door only to be jammed by _Faust_... _Faust_ stuck his mechanical arm between the closing entrance doors just as to prevent it from completely closing.

-"Move away your arm Faust..." warned one of the two shamans who were guarding the entrance door. -"Yes, just do what he says, so no one will get hurt." Said the shaman who was trying to close the entrance gate... he was pressing a button to trigger the closing of the gates…

But _Faust_ was not moved... he remained what he was doing... until his mechanical arm was slowly being squished by the entrance gate... the skin on his arm was slowly being torn away by the part of the entrance gate's rail, revealing the metallic internal part of his arm... _Carousel_ then immediately pulled away _Faust's_ arm that is being stuck at the closing gate... the entrance gate then banged and closed instantly... because _Faust's_ arm that he had stuck between the closing gates was suddenly pulled away by _Carousel_.

-"It's not worth to let yourself be hurt just to prove these Erishans your point... if they don't want to believe in us, then there's nothing more we can do... at least we've done our part." Said _Rachael_ as _Faust_ had to feel his slightly injured arm.

-"Wait! Let me in!" a voice cried from behind them that caught their attention... and it was... _Emoreh_ who was panting as he was running towards the entrance gate... -"Open up..." he said as he was very late for the congregation…

-"No... Don't go in there!" cried _Carousel_ to _Emoreh_ -"We don't know what Dimitris might do to all the splitters in there."

 _Emoreh_ narrowed his eyes... -"Carousel... what are you talking about?" he asked as he slightly shook his head. -"Anyways, have you seen Emery…? Did Emery make it in here?" He worriedly asked

-"No, I haven't seen Emery..." replied _Carousel_ as she looked around through the group of _splitters_ who were waiting for their turn to descend to the underground maze... _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes as she tried to focus on them when… from a far distance she saw _Emery_ from the crowd and she was looking at her too. -"Wait! I think I saw Emery in there…! Cried _Carousel_ -"But you shouldn't go in there because Dimitris is a soul..." _Carousel_ said as she was suddenly interrupted by _Dimitris_ who unexpectedly walked out from one of the many corners of the school's building.

 _Dimitris_ was then slowly walking towards them... the sound of his shoes' heels echoed through the hallway as he walks...

-"Go! And lead them all into the underground maze!" ordered _Dimitris_ to the two shamans who were guarding the entrance gate of the academy... -"I'll take care of these stubborn trainees..." He added.

The two shamans nodded as they just did what _Dimitris_ has ordered them to do... they both led all the _splitters_ who came in late... into the underground maze until no one was left around there except _Dimitris_ who was mockingly standing just inside the academy's entrance gate. While _Carousel_ , _Faust_ and _Rachael_ together with _Emoreh_ was left outside of the school's premise.

-"Dimitris, let me in!" cried _Emoreh_

-"You despicable monster!" cried _Faust_ to _Dimitris_

-"What are you planning to do with all the splitters?" _Carousel_ asked _Dimitris_ as _Emoreh_ slowly narrowed his eyes... he doesn't have any idea on what was going on.

 _Dimitris_ snorted as he gave them a sarcastic smile... -"Now... now... you are all too late... the purging of the splitters will soon take place at the underground maze and there is nothing the three of you can do." Said _Dimitris_ with a slight laugh…

 _Faust_ and _Carousel_ then started to bring down the very tall and very sturdy entrance gate of the academy... they kept hitting and pounding it. -"You're a monster!" cried _Carousel_ as she was holding and shaking on to the grills of the entrance gate. -"You tricked us in entering to your evil academy so you could consume our souls."

-"You two... stop what you're doing!" cried _Emoreh_ to _Carousel_ and _Faust_ -"Why are you accusing Dimitris of something he's not! Don't you two have any appreciation of the things that this academy had done to your talents... to your skills?" said _Emoreh_ in an angry manner. -"Faust... is this how you repay the head shaman - Dimitris who trained you, to get you to where you are now?"

 _Dimitris_ then gave _Faust_ a sarcastic frown, his lower lip was pressed down.

-"Emoreh... you don't know the real story here." Said _Carousel_ as she heavily brushed _Emoreh_ aside... -"Dimitris is a soul stealer!" she said -"And I know that he's up to something..."

-"Soul Stealers don't exist!" cried _Emoreh_ -"Why do you keep insisting that those creatures exist?" said _Emoreh_ to _Carousel_... as he was fixing himself from being brushed aside and was looking at them with doubt…

"They do exist…" _Faust_ said to _Emoreh_

 _Emoreh_ then faced _Faust_ … "I don't know what Carousel had said to you, but you think you can fool me? You know what Faust? You always made me feel like you were somehow better than me?"

-"But he really is better than you, so much better than you!" _Carousel_ interrupted

 _Emoreh_ was just taken aback…

-"No, Carousel didn't tell me anything, Carousel and I saw a soul stealer at Lake Midgar… and I never made you feel that I was better than you… Emoreh, you know that's not true…" replied _Faust_

-"Because Faust is just way… way better than you and that is the fact!" _Rachael_ interrupted too…

But _Emoreh_ didn't seem to pay attention to what _Rachael_ had just said and instead he asked -"And what were you two doing at Lake Midgar?"

-"We were off to…" replied _Faust_ but _Carousel_ quickly interrupted the conversation…

-"We were off to take a swim, the two of us, me and Faust. And that is where we saw a soul stealer lurking in the forest." Explained _Carousel_

 _Carousel_ was obviously on _Faust's_ side and she was making it clear to _Emoreh_ … _Emoreh's_ eyes narrowed, he felt a bit envious. -"And Dimitris..." _Emoreh_ called as he turned to face _Dimitris_. -"What... what – purging of the splitters were you talking about?" asked _Emoreh_ to _Dimitris_ as he turned to look at him... his tone was confused... but as soon as _Emoreh_ turned to face _Dimitris_... _Emoreh_ had suddenly witnessed the true identity of _Dimitris_... for _Dimitris_ had slowly morphed into his true self - a soul stealer...

 _Dimitris_ slowly turned into a soul stealer – the soul stealer... ' _Mischief_ '... and now, his eyes were now pitched black... his skin was gray... his hair was dark as the night... his hands turned into razor sharp claws... and two horns slowly emerging on his forehead... _Emoreh_ was in total awe upon seeing _Dimitris_ in his soul stealer form... _Emoreh's_ eyes widened... he couldn't speak or breathe... he was in a total shock... as he tries to step back.

-"Let's see... I'm going to start the purging with you..." said _Mischief_ in a very nasally sound to _Emoreh_ as he unexpectedly stroke _Emoreh_ to his chest by his claw-like hand and grabbed him by the face by the other... _Mischief's_ claws past through the grills of the entrance gate... cutting it like butter. _Mischief_ then ripped open _Emoreh's_ mouth down to his throat with his beak like mandibles and started to suck his blood dry... _Faust_ , _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ were stunned to see how things had happened so quickly and before they knew it... _Emoreh_ was dead! His lifeless body rests along the entrance gate and his skin started to cripple as _Mischief_ sucks his blood... _Carousel_ was in total shock... she did not know what to do... her eyes widened as she was just looking at how _Mischief_ was sucking _Emoreh's_ blood out of him, and then _Mischief_ paused for awhile... he slightly lifts his head up and looked at _Carousel_ in the eye... he sarcastically smiled at her, as _Emoreh's_ blood flows throughout his face... _Carousel_ looked disgusted and she was now fuming with anger towards _Mischief_... her eyes narrowed as she immediately pulls a steel grill from the entrance gate of the academy... then she used it to strike _Dimitris_ on the face... _Dimitris_ was put to a hurl upon receiving the sudden heavy blow that _Carousel_ gave to him, making him release _Emoreh_ from being tightly locked up... _Emoreh's_ lifeless body then fell to the ground and a tiny speck of light came out from his ripped mouth, _Carousel_ witnessed the coming out of _Emoreh's_ soul out of his mouth... it was gray in color and it's glow was dimmer than some of the glows of the souls she saw at _Heraldin's_ lower shelter... _Carousel_ was in total shock... she couldn't believe _Emoreh_ was dead.

-"Dimitris!" cried _Carousel_ as her voice was shaking in anger.

-"I knew it... he was just an ordinary creature with no real talent!" cried _Mischief_ upon seeing _Emoreh's_ soul too... it was floating on mid air, _Mischief_ then hastily ran towards where _Emoreh_ body was laying and tries to consume his soul, floating on top of his mouth. -"A soul is still a soul..." said _Mischief_ as he opened his beak-like lips and mandibles and was about to consume the soul.

-"Monster!" cried _Carousel_ as she stroke _Mischief_ again in the head with the steel grill that she was still holding. _Mischief_ was momentarily knocked out from the blow... and he then stroked his head to feel the pain. -"See what you've done? You let your boyfriend's soul slip through my reach..." said _Dimitris_ in anger as _Emoreh's_ soul drifted through the air… -"But then again, your friend's soul is just such a waste after all... and I wouldn't care less if I hadn't consumed his soul, its worthless." Said _Mischief_ with a snort -"So I guess I won't wait for Demeon to consume your soul... I guess I'll have to consume your soul all for myself." He said to _Carousel_.

 _Faust_ and _Rachael_ then soon joined the fight too. The three of them began throwing in their talents to _Mischief_ but _Carousel_ and _Faust_ can't do anything to damage _Mischief_ because the latter could read their minds.

-"You're too predictable!" cried _Mischief_ to _Carousel_ and _Faust_ as he was evading their every attack. -"Your attacks have no effect on me because I can see your every next move." Said _Mischief_ as he strokes them with his sharp claws... _Faust_ and _Carousel_ were brushed away... there's nothing they could do now to stop _Mischief_ from his relentless assaults towards them... _Rachael_ was the only one who could inflict damage to _Mischief_... but all she could do is to slowly move objects with her telekinetic skill... and before she even starts to move an object... _Mischief_ was there to attack her; _Rachael_ was still a little bit slow…

-"I know what we should do." _Carousel_ whispered to _Faust_

-"Do you have a plan?" asked _Faust_

-"Yes... let's just close our eyes first so Dimitris can't read our thoughts... then we should play with him using a mischievous act... according to the book... that would weaken him, because he is too aggressive."

-"Yes, you're right." Replied _Faust_

-"Hmm... What are you two whispering to each other?" asked _Mischief_ as he walks towards _Carousel_ and _Faust_ , his tone was teasingly annoying. -"As if I wouldn't know…" He added as his voice was very nasally.

 _Carousel_ and _Faust_ then began closing their eyes.

-"So you think that by closing your eyes that would keep me from reading your thoughts? That's a clever idea, but…" asked _Mischief_ -"Then let's see how long you two can keep up with what you're doing!" cried _Mischief_ as he was about to attack them again…

-"Faust, be on your guard..." _Carousel_ whispered to _Faust_ as her eyes were tightly shut. -"He's going to attack us from behind... I can feel him." Warned _Carousel_ as she sharpens her senses... _Mischief_ then attacked them from behind and they both luckily evaded _Mischief's_ attack from behind.

-"That was close." Said _Faust_ as he rolled over and was keeping both his eyes tightly shut.

-"Dimitris..." called _Carousel_... -"I know who killed your mother..." she said

 _Mischief_ was then put to a pause... he snarled as he looked at _Carousel_.

-"And I know that – that is your reason for choosing to become a soul stealer... to find your mother's perpetrator."

-"How did you know about all this?" asked _Mischief_

-"Let's just say... I read it from a soul stealer's book of life..." replied _Carousel_

-"A... soul stealer's book of life?" asked _Mischief_ as he looked very intrigued. -"Are you sure…? So tell me, who might have... killed my mother?" asked _Mischief_

-"I'll tell you... but first... you have to let me read your book of life too... so I can help you…"

 _Mischief_ heavily sighed -"Help me what? He annoyingly asked -"So you think that – that is the reason why I chose to become a soul stealer? Is to find my mother's perpetrator? I can find her perpetrator anytime I want to... even if I'm not a soul stealer." said _Mischief_ as he slightly laughed.

-"What do you mean?" _Carousel_ softly asked

 _Dimitris_ then gave them a very loud laugh... -"I don't care who killed my mother... in fact I was relieved when she died... and so I should have to thank her perpetrator instead." He cried… as his pitch black eyes were suddenly turning into crimson red, and he seems to be getting stronger… _Mischief_ was now showing his true power… _Carousel_ , _Faust_ and _Rachael_ were now suddenly put into a different dimension and space which _Mischief_ had an absolute control… their surroundings starts to change… everywhere they look at, was pitch black and they couldn't see _Dimitris_ anywhere…

-"This is like the same scene that I have encountered with-with that soul stealer at Lake Midgar…!" cried _Faust_ as he slightly peeked to observe their surroundings…

-"This is harder than I thought it would be..." _Carousel_ thought to herself... -"I think we are the ones who are getting played in this mind game..." she mumbled to herself. -"I have to think of a way to win over his mischievous acts... and I have to think fast..." said _Carousel_ to herself... -"Dimitris..." _Carousel_ then called his name again... -"Demeon was the one who killed your mother..." She said.

 _Mischief_ just snorted as he was about to laugh again... then he ferociously attacked them all… his crimson red eyes were very remarkable.

But _Carousel_ then opened her eyes... -"You don't believe me?" She said -"Then… look into my eyes and see it for yourself." Said _Carousel_ as she opened her eyes to let _Mischief_ read her mind... they intensely looked at each other... and moments later... _Mischief_ was confused... and then…

-"What…? Demeon has a book of life?" cried _Mischief_ in anger as he read _Carousel's_ mind.

-"You look so angry…! As if you want to kill your master…?" _Carousel_ mockingly asked

-"He's not my master!" replied _Mischief_ in a loud tone and his crimson red eyes were now suddenly turning into a light gray in color…

-"Yes he is…" said _Faust_

 _Mischief_ snarled at them and tries to swiftly flee away... but _Carousel_ managed to grab hold of his wing.

-"Where do you think you're going?" asked _Carousel_ as her expression was somewhat teasing. -"You don't know that Demeon has a book of life?" her voice hits a higher note at the end. -"Isn't it a must for every soul stealer and every soul seeker to have a book of life?"

 _Mischief_ shrugged off his wing. -"Let go of me! You pathetic fool!" He cried but _Carousel_ maintained a strong grip at his wing and she refuses to let him go. -"Just to let you know… we… soul stealers do not possess a book of life anymore once we choose to become a soul stealer." Explained _Mischief_ -"Now let go of me because… Demeon has a lot of explaining to me to do…" He added as he was starting to weaken…

 _Carousel_ , _Faust_ and _Rachael_ then looked confused...

-"I think you shouldn't just let Demeon make a simple explaining to do…" _Faust_ interrupted -"Demeon is a traitor! And there's a huge price to pay for treachery… you know what I mean…" said _Faust_ -"I think you should kill him." _Faust_ suggested

-"Yes, I think you should kill him." _Rachael_ added

 _Mischief_ was taken aback as he seems to weaken a bit…

-"What's wrong…?" asked _Rachael_ in a sublime manner -"Don't you think we gave you a good advice…?"

 _Mischief_ tried to compose himself as not to give them a hint of weakening that he was feeling… -"I think you should all go… before it's too late! You wouldn't want your friends at the underground maze to end up like him… don't you!" cried _Mischief_ in a nasally annoying voice as he looked at the lifeless body of _Emoreh_ that is lying on the ground, then _Mischief_ smirked at the entrance door of the underground maze… where they had gathered all the 'splitters' around the world…

 _Carousel_ was caught off guard for a moment as she realizes what _Mischief_ meant, she momentarily let loose of holding _Mischief's_ wing and _Mischief_ made use of that moment to flee… but _Carousel_ manages to quickly grab one of _Mischief's_ two horns on his forehead and broke it before he fled… leaving him flying dizzily in the air.

-"That pathetic girl!" cried _Mischief_ to him self as he felt one of his horns on his forehead was broken."

-"I think you shouldn't have done that..." said _Rachael_ to _Carousel_ -"Look... he got away..." she added.

-"I know... my fault..." _Carousel_ anxiously admitted as she slowly walked towards _Emoreh's_ lifeless body... -"They won't get away with this... I promise..." said _Carousel_ to _Emoreh_ … her voice was shaking as she was holding back her tears and she was almost put to a sobbing when… _Rachael_ said…

-"But what would Demeon want from Emoreh…? If Emoreh wasn't even a 'splitter' to begin with…?" asked _Rachael_ … -"Why would Demeon... go through all the trouble just to consume an ordinary soul?" She asked

-"Perhaps he just didn't know about it yet..." replied _Faust_ as _Carousel_ was just very silent... she was still looking at _Emoreh's_ lifeless body.

Then _Carousel_ heard screams from down below the underground maze... the sound of screaming voices penetrated from the ground up through where they were... _Carousel_ was startled and she immediately proceeded to the underground maze.

-"Carousel... where are you going?" cried _Faust_ when he saw _Carousel_ suddenly rushed through the entrance door of the underground maze. He didn't seem to hear the screams that _Carousel_ heard from down below.

-"I heard screams... from down below..." replied _Carousel_ as she thumped the concrete entrance door of the underground maze because it was locked.

-"Let me..." Said _Faust_ as he approached _Carousel_ and insisted to help her knock the entrance door, _Faust's_ mechanical arms then doubled its size to produce a stronger force... he then helped _Carousel_ pushed the sturdy concrete door, _Rachael_ also joined in... She was using her telekinetic skill to help them push the concrete door too, _Carousel_ on the other hand was very furious about the whole situation and her intense emotion helped them bring down the concrete door. -"Let's hurry." Said she as the huge entrance door collapsed to the ground... and they hurriedly descended inside the underground maze with _Carousel_ leading their way into the dark labyrinth holding up a lighted torch that was hanged at the wall which she took... but they were too late... when they got there... hundreds of lifeless bodies of _splitters_ were scattered all over the place, almost all the _splitters_ who went inside the underground maze were dead... except for the stronger ones who were able to fight back, their mouths were ripped open, but no blood were found on the grubby floor for their blood had been sucked dried out of them and their skin were crippled... indicating that a soul stealer had killed them.

-"Aghhh..." cried _Faust_ in anger upon seeing all the dead _splitters_ lying on the ground... _Carousel_ slightly turned her face away from the gruesome scene because she couldn't bear to look at what happened to her fellow _splitters_. _Rachael_ partially covered her eyes as she was distressed about the whole scene that they had suddenly witnessed. _Carousel_ couldn't see the souls of their fellow _splitters_ who just died, thinking that a soul stealer could have consumed them all…

And then... from a dark channel of the many passageways of the underground maze... stepped a silhouette of a shadow... _Carousel_ heard the slight disturbance as she was drawn to look at one of the dark corners of the labyrinth... _Faust_ and _Rachael_ were alarmed by _Carousel's_ reaction so they both looked at where _Carousel_ was looking at too... and the two narrowed their eyes to have a clear look at whom or what might that shadow be... but it's not clear what or who it was... _Carousel_ tried to lighten the place with the torch she was holding.

"Show yourself... coward!" cried _Faust_

-"There's no need to hide Demeon, we know that it's you!" cried _Rachael_ too.

And so the shadow stepped forward to be seen by the three... it was a soul stealer... but it wasn't _Demeon_... the soul stealer has a robust body and his body is bigger than _Conscience_ and _Mischief_ and it had three horns on its forehead. His eyes were crimson red…

Chapter Nineteen "Assailant"

-"Who are you?" asked _Faust_ in an angry manner... -"What did you do to them!?" He cried as he was pertaining to the lifeless bodies of his fellow _splitters_.

-"..." But _Assailant_ did not reply... he just snarled at _Faust_ , his furious crimson red eyes remained focus on _Faust_ as his eyes remained still and was not blinking.

-"So you think... we don't know who you are? Ha!" said _Faust_ with a zeal expression -"I know who you are... you're the soul stealer whom Demeon gave the name – the Assailant!" said he with utter conviction "... and whatever reasons you had to become a soul stealer is, we don't care... because I'm assuming that it's probably the same shallow reasons you have just like... your fellow monsters Conscience and Mischief." _Faust_ added…

But ... _Assailant_ just looked unmoved and did not waste any effort to respond to his assertion, instead... _Assailant_ replied with a quick attack to _Faust_... disregarding the latter's claim.

The two then fought in an intense battle, producing and making powerful attacks on one another. The skins on _Faust's_ arms were torn again as he was using them to shield himself from _Assailant's_ furious attacks; _Faust_ was then left with no choice but to spawn his maximum skills in alchemy… he transformed both his arms into a metallic and destructive weapon… both into a Gatling gun, now the skins on his arms were completely torn away because of the transformation he did to his arms… he then fired multiple shots at _Assailant_ as _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ also joined in the fight… the three of them joined forces to try to beat _Assailant_ … and there's nothing much _Assailant_ could do to fight a determined alchemist and two furious soul seekers.

-"I think we can bring him down even if we don't know what his character weakness is…" said _Faust_ as _Assailant_ was showing a slight weariness from the fight. -"His previous fights with the splitters that he had just killed might have worn him down…" _Faust_ Concluded…

-"But what can we possibly do to deter him?" Asked _Carousel_

-"Let's blow this place up! We'll bury him together with this evil place!" _Faust_ suggested

-"Are you insane?" _Rachael_ interrupted -"Do you want us to get buried alive too?"

-"Leave this to me… just go with _Carousel_ … I'll meet you up at the surface." Said _Faust_

-"No…!" _Carousel_ strongly disagreed -"We are not going anywhere… we are in this fight together…" she said as she tries to budge one of the standing pillars of the underground maze which was located near them.

-"What do you think you're doing?" asked _Faust_ anxiously

-"You said you wanted to blow this place up… so this might as well help…" replied she as she continued dislodging the pillar from its proper place and the top part of the underground labyrinth started to shaken and debris started to fall from the ceiling. _Faust_ then again fired multiple shots at _Assailant_ as the latter tries to attack them again… _Assailant_ wraps himself with his pair of wings every time _Faust_ tries to shoot at him, he uses his huge dark wings to shield himself from _Faust's_ attacks, and _Faust_ could not directly shoot at _Assailant_ because the latter was too quick to fold his wings… _Faust_ then transformed his other arm into a bazooka type device and fired a rocket launcher at the ceiling of the underground maze where _Assailant_ was standing, the rubles that fell from the ceiling buried _Assailant_ to the ground… leaving only his one hand with its sharp claws visible from the pile of rubbles that buried him… his hand was grasping to get out from the mound of rubbles… but _Carousel_ was quick enough to lift a large rock and threw it straight at the mound of rubbles that buried _Assailant_ to the ground… they saw _Assailant's_ hand throbbed for awhile then it suddenly stopped.

-"Is he dead?" asked _Rachael_

-"I don't think so…" Replied _Carousel_ as she walks towards the mound of rubbles to check if _Assailant_ was in fact dead… -"This is not the proper way to kill a soul stealer… his three horns are still intact on his forehead, meaning… the splitters did not know how to kill him. So even though they were splitters… they were killed by Assailant because they didn't know how to kill him properly…" _Carousel_ concluded, but the underground maze came to a sudden change, the ceiling started to fall to the ground and large debris of rocks were also falling to the ground, _Carousel_ and _Rachael_ thought that… perhaps the mishap was triggered by _Faust's_ launching of his rocket launcher at the ceiling of the underground maze… that is why the ground also started to fall apart… and bits and pieces of the grubby floor then started to fall into a very dark abyss… from below, _Faust_ and _Rachael_ were stunned and could not move because they were weighed down to see what was going on… they both looked at the rubbles that are falling down to the dark abyss… the pile of rubbles that buried _Assailant_ … was also… slowly falling down to the dark abyss.. _Faust_ and _Rachael_ slowly stepped back as the ground slowly creeps into their feet… the ground opened in a circular motion… slowly falling even down below into the dark abyss.

-"What are you two waiting for? Let's go!" cried _Carousel_ as she grabbed hold of _Faust_ and _Rachael_ with both their hands. They also helped the remaining survivors of the carnage that took place. -"The whole place is about to fall apart and you two are just standing there waiting to be engulfed by that collapsing ground." Said _Carousel_ in an angry tone…

-"But… but Assailant could still be alive." Said _Rachael_

-"He already fell to that abyss… and even if he's still alive he can't possibly get out from that situation." Replied _Faust_

-"Let's just hope that he got buried together with this evil place." _Carousel_ added

 _Faust_ gave a quick smirk at _Assailant_ who fell into the dark abyss of the underground maze. -"Hmm…" he then sighed -"I can't see… it's too dark." He said as they were quickly running away from the scene.

-"Just hold on to me." Replied _Carousel_ as she held a tight grip at _Faust's_ hand. -"Don't worry; I can see our way out." She said as she led them out of the collapsing underground maze… as the remaining survivors were anxiously following from behind. _Carousel's_ vision is way better and sharper than that of _Rachael's_ and _Faust's_ … that's why she was the one whom they relied on to take them out of that underground maze, the underground maze then started to collapse as it slowly deteriorates into the ground. _Carousel_ made quick progress to move them to the safety at the top of the underground maze… -"Let's go back to the entrance door… that's our only way out now." Said _Carousel_ , because the whole place was collapsing… preventing them to go to the other side of the maze which is the exit of the underground maze… but as they were running up through the stairs… something grabbed _Rachael_ out of _Carousel's_ hand… _Carousel_ was brought to a pause… but she still continued to walk up through the stairs with _Faust_ holding her other hand and was closely following her behind... _Carousel_ then thought that _Rachael_ had just released herself from her tight grip on her, because she thought that _Rachael_ just got uncomfortable and decided to help and join with the surviving _splitters_ who were a bit slower to run from behind.

-"I can see the light now…" said _Faust_ as he saw from afar a fainted outline of light that was coming out of the entrance of the underground maze… they both quickly followed the light which later led them to their way out of the underground maze… the huge concrete door which they toppled recently was still on the ground. _Carousel_ , _Faust_ and the remaining survivors were panting as they all walked out from the collapsing underground maze… they were all now at the surface… _Carousel_ was on her knees and _Faust_ slowly laid on the ground… in exhaustion.

-"Where's Rachael?" asked _Carousel_ right away as she noticed that _Rachael_ was not there with them.

-"I thought she was with you and that you were holding both our hands." Replied _Faust_

-"I was… but then she suddenly let go of me… and I thought that she was just following right behind us." Said _Carousel_ as she was looking at the remaining survivors, the _splitters_ who survived the carnage were just looking anxiously, and they too did not notice _Rachael_. _Carousel_ and _Faust_ anxiously looked into the collapsing underground maze… which was slowly deteriorating into the ground… it was because the whole place was being engulfed by a current giant sink hole in the ground.

-"Rachael…!" _Carousel_ cried as the collapsing underground maze starts to settle down into the dark abyss.

-"…" but there was no reply from _Rachael_

-"Rachael!" cried _Carousel_ and _Faust_ again… but the unchanged eerie sound of silence was the same reply they got.

 _Carousel_ then felt something ghastly within her guts. -"I think something very terrible happened to _Rachael_." She said as she wrapped herself up with both her arms, her knees dropped to the ground, and tears started to fall down from her eyes as she slowly looked down into the dark abyss… _Faust_ then embraced her from her behind and he tightly rubbed her arms as they were both looking down at the giant sink hole that engulfed the whole underground maze.

-"Could that soul stealer probably got hold of her…?" asked _Faust_

-"But I didn't see Assailant behind us nor did I detect him…" replied _Carousel_

-"Let's go to the manor… let's meet up with Heraldin…" _Faust_ suggested as he strode _Carousel_ to his floating vessel.

-"Go back to your realms and warn all the Erishans about what is now happening in here." Said _Faust_ to the survivors…

-"Yes we will, and thank you… both of you, thank you very much…" said the survivors

But before the whole underground maze fell into the sink hole… _Rachael_ was being taunted by her abductor… -"I should have destroyed you a long time ago… I shouldn't have let you grew this strong." Said her captor in a very calm tone…

-"What… what are… y…o…u?" asked _Rachael_ slowly… her eyes widened, but before she could finish her question… her captor destroyed her… completely obliterating her whole body.

Meanwhile… _Heraldin_ has made it into _Demeon's_ manor… he forcedly opened the door and stepped inside the mansion while _Conscience_ quickly greeted him with a powerful attack… _Heraldin_ was then pushed to a corner… he narrowed his eyes as he closely examined the face of _Conscience_.

-"So… it is you…" _Heraldin_ softly said upon seeing _Conscience_ … -"Isoah… my friend… what kind of life did you choose?" He asked -"Look at what you have done to yourself… What have you become? … Why?" He added

-"You tell me…" said _Conscience_

 _Heraldin_ was puzzled… he did not know what to say… -"I don't know what you mean." Said _Heraldin_

-"You don't know?" _Conscience_ teasingly asked -"You were the reason why I chose this kind of life."

-"What…!? ..." cried _Heraldin_ -"I… I don't understand… how…?"

-"I despise what you have become…" _Conscience_ interrupted… his voice was deep and frightening. -"I never wanted to be like you… that's why I never wanted to become a soul seeker anymore."

-"What are you talking about? We were both soul seekers… we had visions, we had plans for our own nation… what happened to those dreams we once had?"

-"And where are your Erishan's souls now?" asked _Conscience_ teasingly

 _Heraldin_ was taken aback as he heavily sighed

-"Forever trapped inside those containers…?" _Conscience_ asked with a slight laugh… -"You made a promise to your nation that will never happen… a promise that is meant to be broken… you are a delusional old creature _Heraldin_ … you made your followers believe that you could deliver their souls into a much better place… now… have you found that special place?" asked _Conscience_ …

 _Heraldin_ was trying to compose him self and said… -"They were asking me for help… they were asking me for their salvation… What do you want me to tell them…? That… that… there is no hope for them…? Nothing to look forward to, once they die… I couldn't just let their hopes and dreams fade away… I want them to have something to look forward to…" _Heraldin_ explained

-"So you decided to promise them an imaginary world for them to live in?"

 _Heraldin_ heavily sighed. -"I am still looking for that place… and I know that I will find that place somehow."

-"You really are delusional! You can even make yourself believe in what you are saying… you are so naïve."

-"Say whatever you want Isoah…!" cried _Heraldin_

-"Oh, yes I will…" _Conscience_ interrupted -"And you even made your followers believe that you were the son of their god."

-"I never made them believe such things…" _Heraldin_ explained -"They were the ones who gave me that title which I never came to approve of."

-"Oh… but you enjoyed it… did you? You enjoyed being called a god…" said _Conscience_ in a very mocking manner and he stroke _Heraldin_ by his torso… _Heraldin_ was caught off guard and was then thrown to the wall… he was feeling an immense pain at his back and torso as he tries to feel it… _Heraldin_ was wallowing on the floor. _Conscience_ walked towards _Heraldin_ with his eyes slowly turning into a crimson red in color as he stepped on _Heraldin's_ face with his claw-like foot.

-"How would you like me to end your life my old friend…" said _Conscience_ as he held a tight grip on _Heraldin's_ face with his claw-like foot… -"Before I consume your pathetic soul… would you like it to be quick or would you like to die in pain again…?" asked _Conscience_ teasingly…

 _Heraldin_ cried in pain… -"Arghh… was it worth it?" asked _Heraldin_ in pain as blood pumps out of his mouth.

-"What…?"

-"Was… was all these worth it?" asked _Heraldin_ slowly again as he tries to lift with his hand, _Conscience's_ claw-like foot away from his face.

-"Of course, it was all worth it…" replied _Conscience_ in a thunderous tone… -"Demeon has open up my mind about becoming a soul stealer… and being a soul stealer feels so good… you should try it."

-"So… it was Demeon who poisoned your mind after all."

-"I wouldn't actually call it poisoned… but enlightened… would be the appropriate word."

-"Arghh…" said _Heraldin_ as he tries to lift _Conscience's_ claw-like foot. -"I have had high hopes for you!" cried _Heraldin_ as he tries to throw _Conscience_ away, holding his claw-like foot. -"I had high expectations for you… and this is only what you had become… a monster…! A soul stealer?" cried _Heraldin_ in anger. -"You have just wasted your hundreds of years of living being a soul seeker… if I had known that you were just to become a soul stealer I should have left you dying when you were being mocked by my community at the city of Goban… because you were caught stealing food from their market."

-"I had no choice but to steal… I was so hungry at that time, I had no money… I had nothing to eat… and I could have just gotten away with it even without your help, because it was just a simple misdemeanor… and so now… you're telling me that you saved me from your nation?" asked _Conscience_ in a frightening tone. -"Remember that I was the one who saved you from your own nation when they stoned you to death… remember?" asked _Conscience_ as he was trying to impose his power to _Heraldin_.

But _Heraldin_ then narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember the things that _Conscience_ was telling him… but then _Heraldin_ remembered nothing… he looked into _Conscience's_ eyes and said… -"Nobody saved me during that time… and I died there alone because of someone I once trusted and an Erishan that I would never want to remember up to now… and it was because of a voice… a voice that I heard when I died that motivated me to continue to live but I'm sure that-that voice didn't belong to you… you obviously read my 'Book of Life' but you haven't understood it properly." Said _Heraldin_

 _Conscience_ just snarled at _Heraldin_ as he stroke _Heraldin_ again with his claw-like hands… _Heraldin_ manages to evade every attack that _Conscience_ was throwing at him.

-"There's no use for this… I can read your every attack." Said _Heraldin_ to _Conscience_

 _Conscience_ then closed both his eyes. -"Now let's see if you could still read my mind." Said _Conscience_ as he prepares to attack _Heraldin_ again

But _Heraldin_ still manages to evade his every attack. -"You're too slow… how can you strike me with your eyes closed, when your every attack depends so much on your eyesight… how long can you keep your eyes closed?" _Heraldin_ asked _Conscience_

 _Conscience_ was now being worn out by _Heraldin_ … but _Conscience_ refuses to give up.

-"I'm goanna rip your mouth wide open and put your soul into a container… just like what you have done to the souls of your nation." Said _Conscience_ -"And I will make you feel what you have been doing to those poor souls that you have trapped for hundreds of years… and counting." He added

-"But at least… it was better to trap them inside a container… and I just entrapped them but I did not consume them…" replied _Heraldin_ … his tone was somewhat trying to let _Conscience_ know the sense of what is right and what is wrong.

 _Conscience_ was taken aback for awhile… he was momentarily brought to silence, but he then continued to speak with _Heraldin_ … -"If I were you… you should have just consumed their souls… Heraldin… they are not worth protecting… look at what they had done to you? You tried everything to help your nation… but what did you get in return from your Erishans? They stoned you to death… and now… you still continue to make those kinds of deeds, to make promises to Erishans who wants to seek your salvation… Erishans don't change Heraldin…" said _Conscience_

-"Yes they do… Erishans can change… look at you." _Heraldin_ interrupted -"You changed… it's just that… you changed for the worst…"

 _Conscience_ heavily sighed and mockingly replied -"You are no better than me Heraldin… what makes you think that you are so different from me?"

-"Perhaps the way you look…" _Heraldin_ teasingly replied

 _Conscience_ growled at _Heraldin_ and strokes him again with his claw-like hands… but _Heraldin_ can counteract every attack that _Conscience_ throws at him… even though he was also being worn out by _Conscience_ …

-"Isoah… I told you that there is no use for these… I can read your thoughts… I can read your attacks; I can read your every move." Said he to _Conscience_ as he saw _Conscience's_ eyes slightly peeking in his every attack…

-"But I am way stronger than you are!" cried _Conscience_ as he was now slowly being worn down by _Heraldin_. -"The souls of my Erishans made me stronger… more powerful…" said _Conscience_

-"But was it worth it?" asked _Heraldin_ again

-"I already told you that it was all worth it!" replied _Conscience_

-"Consuming the souls of your mother… of your father… and of your brothers and sisters… was it really worth it?" _Heraldin_ asked as he narrowed his eyes… and starts to read _Isoah's_ mind… -"Was it really worth it to consume your wife and your children's souls…?"

 _Conscience_ was taken aback, his crimson red eyes were now turning into a light gray in color… his conscience was creeping in at the back of his mind and he was then floundering on the floor again… and _Heraldin_ made that brief opportunity to break his horn.

 _Heraldin_ then quickly grabbed hold of him on the floor… he held _Conscience's_ horn as he tried to break it… -"Goodbye… my friend." Said _Heraldin_ as he broke _Conscience's_ horn on his forehead with both of his hands… _Conscience_ then growled so loud it echoed through the mansion… and throughout the forest outside… his body slowly turned into dusts as his horn was broken away from his forehead. Soon… wind came in through the open doors and broken windows of the mansion… and it carried away the remains of dusts of _Conscience_ …

 _Heraldin_ was feeling sorry for the death of his old friend _Isoah_ … but he had no choice, when he suddenly heard a clapping from up above… _Heraldin_ looked up and saw from the mezzanine that _Demeon_ was applauding him…

-"That was impressive…" said _Demeon_ as he was clapping his hands and descended down the stairs. _Demeon_ was watching their fight. -"You… by your own standards… the savior of your own nation… but yet you still managed to kill your old friend… how could you do such a thing?" asked _Demeon_ in a teasing manner.

 _Heraldin_ intensely looked into _Demeon's_ eyes… -"Isoah ended our friendship… when he chose to join in your side." Replied _Heraldin_ -"And you will pay for what you have done to Serrot and to all the innocent shamans that you have killed." _Heraldin_ added

 _Demeon_ slightly laughed… -"Where did we take off…? Oh I remember… you were looking for me at the Midgar city Gala building…" said _Demeon_ -"Now… that you have known many things about me… do you think that I would still let you get out of here alive?" said _Demeon_ as he slowly transformed himself into his bat beast-like form.

-"I am not afraid of you!" cried _Heraldin_

-"But how can you kill me…? Do you know how to kill me…?" _Demeon_ asked teasingly as he quickly stroke _Heraldin_ on the chest with his claw-like hands.

But _Heraldin_ manages to evade _Demeon's_ attack. -"Your attacks are useless; I can read your thoughts… I can read your every attack… I can see your next moves." Said _Heraldin_ to _Demeon_ … he was then momentarily brought to a silence and he thought… -"So, my mind-reading skill can work on him after all, as long as I am looking into his eyes personally…" _Heraldin_ thought to himself as he was brought to a silence once again… -"But Demeon is right… how can I defeat him…? The way to defeat him wasn't written in his book of life." _Heraldin_ thought to him self… the only way to destroy him is to lure him to the 'Devourer' like what _Carousel_ was saying…

-"Do you think that…? I have need for these…?" replied _Demeon_ as he was slowly pulling his eyes out from the eye socket of his skull… _Heraldin_ was left feeling spiteful upon seeing what _Demeon_ had done to him self… what he had done to his eyes…

Blood… came rushing out from _Demeon's_ eyes sockets in the form of a black gooey liquid like substance… as he pulled his eyes out. -"Ha…! Ha…! Ha!" _Demeon_ laughed at _Heraldin_. -"Now… can you still read my mind?" asked _Demeon_ … as he was holding his eyes up in the air to let _Heraldin_ see what he had done to himself, as if mocking him… then he unexpectedly threw them straight at _Heraldin_ … _Heraldin_ then dodged it with complete disgust towards _Demeon_.

 _Demeon_ and _Heraldin_ then fought intensely… _Heraldin_ couldn't read _Demeon's_ attacks anymore because the latter had pulled out his eyes… so _Heraldin_ decided to run away because _Demeon_ was too strong for him and there is nothing more he could do… for he was worn out by his recent fight with _Conscience_ …

-"You can run… but you cannot hide…" cried _Demeon_ upon sensing that _Heraldin_ was quickly running away from their fight.

 _Heraldin_ quickly rushed out from the mansion then he ran back through the underground forest to hide… he hid himself from one of the many giant algae that are growing inside the dark underground forest. _Heraldin_ then tucked him self even tighter amongst the giant algae when he heard that _Demeon_ was fast approaching.

-"Do you really think that you could hide from me…?" cried _Demeon_ as he was standing there at the center of the dark underground forest… _Demeon_ was looking around… then he used his echo-locating skill to pin point where _Heraldin_ was hiding.

-"There you are!" cried _Demeon_ as he located _Heraldin_ who was hiding amongst one of the giant algae… _Demeon_ immediately flew over where he had spotted _Heraldin_ and quickly started to attack him again… both of them were in a very intense situation but _Heraldin_ is the one who is more exhausted from the fight and was badly injured because he was already worn out by his recent fight with _Conscience_ … _Demeon_ was then about to deliver a fatal blow at _Heraldin_ when a shadow distracted him from behind… _Demeon_ looked back and saw that it was _Mischief_ who distracted him…

-"You never told me… that you had a book of life…" _Mischief_ said angrily to _Demeon_.

-"I don't have time for this right now!" cried _Demeon_ as he was about to hit _Heraldin_ again.

-"You told us… that we don't need to own a book of life anymore once we become a soul stealer… What are you planning to do that I don't know!"

-"Nothing!" replied _Demeon_ as he slowly turned around to face _Mischief_ … -"What happened to your horns?" asked _Demeon_ as he sensed through his echolocation skill that there was just one horn left on _Mischief's_ forehead.

-"It's none of your concern!" cried _Mischief_ as he saw _Demeon_ without anymore eyes… -"Now, look who's talking… what happened to your eyes…? Did he poke your eyes out…?" asked _Mischief_ with a laugh… he then slowly faced _Heraldin_ … -"Congratulations…" he said to _Heraldin_ –"You certainly gave him what he truly deserves…" he added

-"Now… that's not the proper way to speak to me… Dimitris…" said _Demeon_ in a very low and frightening voice.

 _Heraldin_ sensed the commotion between the two soul stealers and decided to use that opportunity to flee… but then he decided to stay there for awhile to hear more from them.

-"And how do you want me to speak to you…?" asked _Mischief_ in a very annoying nasally voice. -"You want to be respected? But you're a monster! A devil! A soul stealer!" cried _Mischief_ -"There is no room for respect for creatures like us!" He added -"Now tell me! Why do you still have a book of life…? Or else…" _Mischief_ said in a threatening manner.

-"Or else what…?" _Demeon_ replied

-"Or… I will kill you! I will see what kind of soul… is hidden inside your monstrous body… or perhaps you don't have one!" said _Mischief_

 _Heraldin_ tried to interfere with their conversation. -"But… but how…? How will you kill him?" _Heraldin_ slowly asked _Mischief_

 _Mischief_ then slowly turned to face _Heraldin_ and said to him… -"Only soulless creatures… soul stealers like me, like 'Conscience' and 'Assailant' has the power to kill him!" cried _Mischief_ as he slowly faced _Demeon_ -"I am the only one amongst us three to have known of his immense secret… and I have known of this since long before I was just a soul seeker and that is why I chose to become a soul stealer because I know that-that is the only way to kill him… and the only way to avenge my mother's death… but now… avenging my mother's death is not really my concern!"

 _Heraldin_ was in total surprise to hear what _Mischief_ had said to him… his eyes slowly narrowed.

-"You will kill me?" _Demeon_ asked _Mischief_

 _Mischief_ just snorted

-"But you were my favorite… how can you be so ungrateful… to me…?" said _Demeon_

-"Me…? Your… favorite…?" _Mischief_ asked as he again snorted -"The only reason why you treat me differently is because I am the only one amongst us soul stealers who knows about your secret." Said _Mischief_ in an angry manner -"And all these times… how did I not know about this book of life of yours?"

-"Because you're stupid…! Replied _Demeon_ -"I tried not to think about my book of life when I am looking at you…"

 _Heraldin_ noticed the heated argument between _Demeon_ and _Mischief_ and now he really decided to make use of that moment to flee.

-"And why the sudden hostility?" asked _Demeon_

-"Because you still have a book of life and you are not telling me about it… so you better speak now before I tell 'Conscience' and 'Assailant' about your well guarded secret!" said _Mischief_ as he looked into _Demeon's_ eyes… but he couldn't read the latter's mind because he had already taken off his eyes.

-"Tell Conscience…?" _Demeon_ asked teasingly. -"Conscience is dead!" cried he with a laugh.

 _Mischief_ was taken aback. -"How…?" he slowly asked when _Demeon_ immediately replied with a quick glance at _Heraldin_ … but _Heraldin_ wasn't there anymore… he was nowhere else to be found… he had quickly fled the scene.

 _Mischief_ then looked at _Demeon_ to see if the latter was telling the truth… but _Mischief_ could not use his mind reading skill to _Demeon_ because the latter had already pulled his eyes out.

 _Mischief_ seemed to be unconvinced about what _Demeon_ had told him… -"How could Heraldin have known how to defeat Conscience?" _Mischief_ asked -"You…! You know how to defeat us, so you're probably the only one who could have told Heraldin how to defeat us…" said _Mischief_ in an angry manner. -"So that's your plan…? Use us three for your soul hunting then dispose of us when we don't have any more use for you…?"

-"Yes, you could say that… but I did not tell him anything… Carousel had the other half part of my book… so Heraldin could have read it too." replied _Demeon_

-"What…!?" cried _Mischief_ -"You mean to say you wrote the way to defeat us in your book of life?"

-"…" _Demeon_ just snarled, he did not reply

 _Mischief_ then suddenly remembered _Demeon_ saying about how _Carousel_ had the other half part… of his book of life. -"So that's what you were trying to tell me before… why didn't I get it?" _Mischief_ thought to himself angrily. -"One way to keep my immortality is to dispose those who knows how to destroy me… and I guess I'll just have to start with you Demeon!" cried _Mischief_

-"Oh…I'm scared… I'm really scared…" _Demeon_ replied mockingly as he laughed at _Mischief_ -"I owe to teach you some manners child…" said _Demeon_ as he lunged an attack to _Mischief_ … the two soul stealers then fought intensely…

Meanwhile, _Heraldin_ was about to board into his floating vessel when all of a sudden… 'Rookie' was teleported at almost the same place where his vessel was parked at… because that certain place was programmed to where 'Rookie' must be teleported at when _Faust_ wants to go to _Demeon's_ manor… _Heraldin_ was then surprised to see them as _Faust_ and _Carousel_ then stepped out of their vessel.

-"What was that?" asked _Faust_ when he heard a loud commotion at the underground forest… his eyes narrowed as he stepped outside.

-"The two beasts are in conflict…!" replied _Heraldin_ -"Where's Rachael…?" asked _Heraldin_ as he did not see her daughter with them, he slowly looked into their eyes.

 _Carousel_ and _Faust_ then told everything to _Heraldin_ … everything that had happened to them and to _Rachael_.

 _Carousel_ was so devastated that she couldn't even bear to look at _Heraldin_ and _Faust_.

-"But we are not yet sure if she really is gone." Said _Heraldin_ -"If you two say that you didn't actually see what really happened to her… then she might still be there… let's go back there and check it out!" _Heraldin_ suggested

But _Mischief_ unexpectedly appeared in front of them and interrupted their plans.

-"Where do all of you think you are going?" asked _Mischief_ -"All of you must die!" He cried

-"I guess their fight ended sooner than I thought." _Heraldin_ whispered. -"What happened to Demeon…?" He softly asked

-"Be patient… you'll soon find out what happened to him once I do the same thing to all of you!" cried _Mischief_ as he stroke _Heraldin_ on the chest… the two fought intensely and _Faust_ also joined in the fight to help _Heraldin_. _Carousel_ saw from a far distance… in the underground forest that _Demeon_ was actually laying on the ground unconscious, he wasn't moving and he seems to be dead.

-"You were once a soul seeker who chose to become a soul stealer to avenge your mother's death!" cried _Heraldin_ to _Mischief_

-"That is not my concern anymore!" cried _Mischief_

-"Then… what now is your concern?" asked _Heraldin_ as they were still fighting each other. _Heraldin_ is using his telekinetic skills for his defensive and offensive moves.

-"To consume souls… to keep me strong and powerful…!"

-"Then why do you need to kill us?"

-"Didn't you understand what I just said!?" cried _Mischief_ … -"I said I need to consume souls to keep me alive and because you all know how to destroy my immortality." Said _Mischief_ as he slowly looked at _Heraldin_ , _Faust_ and _Carousel_ … -"Then I shall have to kill you all…!"

-"And you killed Demeon because he also knows how to destroy you?" asked _Heraldin_

-"Demeon and I, both knew how to destroy each other… and it's just a matter of who will get to die first and unfortunately for him… I got to kill him first." Replied _Mischief_ with a loud laugh that echoed through the vast forest…

 _Faust_ narrowed his eyes… he was feeling a bit puzzled.

 _Heraldin_ saw the confusion in _Faust's_ eyes so he whispered to him… -"Only soul stealers can defeat Demeon." _Heraldin_ explained to _Faust_

-"Ah…!" replied _Faust_ as he was enlightened about the situation… -"Dimitris…!" cried _Faust_ -"So you chose to become a soul stealer just so you could avenge your mother's death… right? But then you got carried away for consuming too many souls that made you stronger and more powerful than a soul seeker that's why you did not bother to avenge your mother's death anymore. And you pretended that you didn't actually know who killed your mother…? But in reality you already knew that it was Demeon who was in fact your mother's perpetrator… and then… by any means, you have come to know the only way to kill Demeon is to become a soul stealer like him. So you could consume his soul. And then we provoked you to kill him… now you have really killed him…" said _Faust_

-"And, what is the point of all your nonsense talks…?" asked _Mischief_ as he was aggressively attacking Him and _Heraldin_.

 _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ couldn't get the right timing to get hold of and to break _Mischief's_ horn because the latter was too aggressive.

-"Didn't he tell you…?" _Faust_ intriguingly asked _Mischief_

-"Who…? Who didn't tell me what…?" asked _Mischief_ in an annoyed manner, his eyes narrowed as he tried to read _Faust's_ mind…

-"Demeon…" replied _Faust_ as his tone hit a higher note.

-"What do I care about the things that he had told you that he didn't tell me…? Tell me…? Why do I have to care…? He's dead…!"

-"Actually he didn't tell me anything, but I actually read it in his book of life… that he was…"

 _Mischief's_ eyes slowly narrowed as he was intensely looking at _Faust_ … _Faust_ already knows how to control his thoughts that's why _Mischief_ couldn't get anything from his mind.

-"Didn't he tell you that he was your father…!" cried _Faust_ to _Mischief_

 _Mischief_ was taken aback. -"You're lying…!" cried _Mischief_ as he was still looking into _Faust's_ eyes.

 _Faust_ then did not control his thoughts for awhile, instead he widened his eyes to let _Mischief_ read through his thoughts… he willingly let _Mischief_ read through his mind.

 _Mischief's_ eyes widened too as he saw in _Faust's_ eyes that _Faust_ was actually telling him the truth… _Mischief's_ crimson red eyes then suddenly turned into a light gray in color, then… he slowly floundered on the ground and he seems to be suddenly weakening by the information that he had known.

 _Heraldin_ saw the opportunity that _Mischief_ is being weakened so he quickly cried… -"Faust, now is the time! Break his horn!" He cried to _Faust_ … and then _Faust_ also made use of that brief opportunity to break _Mischief's_ remaining other horn… _Faust_ immediately takes hold of _Mischief's_ remaining horn and he quickly broke it… the last horn snapped out on _Mischief's_ forehead as he was still looking at _Faust_ … the soul stealer _Mischief_ then slowly turned into dusts as his horn broke. The dusts then faded through the swirling wind as _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ watches… _Mischief_ didn't have a soul, just like _Conscience_.

-"They don't have souls…" _Heraldin_ whispered as he watches _Mischief's_ ashes slowly vanishing through the air.

 _Carousel_ on the other hand was still unmoved by the situation as if she didn't care what had just happened, she was still sitting there in front of 'Rookie' with her knees bent on the ground… her head was bowed down and her eyes were watery… she slowly fainted to the ground when luckily… _Faust_ was there to catch her. _Carousel_ was then lying into _Faust's_ arms…

-"Carousel…" cried _Faust_ as he slightly shook _Carousel_ to try to wake her up but _Carousel_ just sighed as she slowly closes her eyes in exhaustion.

-"Rachael… Rachael…" _Carousel_ whispered as those were the only soft words that came out from _Carousel's_ mouth.

 _Faust_ tried to wake her up but then _Carousel_ was put to a deep sleep… and she started to have that dream again…

Chapter Twenty "Final Dream"

 _Carousel_ was walking up on a circular cloud like staircase again and it was so high, as high as the heavens above, and there were old Erishans whom she cannot distinguish whether they were males or females, all she knew was that they were old and they were all looking at her, their hairs were silver white, they were dressed in black and white, printed with decorative designs and patterns, some of them have head dresses and some of them have not, some of them were standing and some of them were sitting, and as _Carousel_ was walking up that circular staircase, she's beginning to feel that it's getting harder and harder for her to breathe. The more she gets to the top the more it gets misty and foggy, and as _Carousel_ was nearing to the top - some of the old Erishasn were no longer visible in her eyes - and finally she have reached the peak, and she saw a very bright light from above… _Carousel_ shaded her eyes with her hand as her eyes flicker… and at the center she saw a liquid-like mirror again, floating on mid air… just like in her past dreams. _Carousel_ slowly walks towards that object to see her reflection, but it wasn't her image that she saw but instead she saw… _Rachael's_ face… _Rachael's_ face was dull… she was not showing any emotions, _Carousel_ then narrowed her eyes as she was looking at the floating liquid-mirror like object and she starts to wonder why…? -"Why is Rachael not showing any emotions…?" _Carousel_ asked herself in her dream… then in her dream… _Rachael's_ image slowly closes her eyes… and starts to slowly vanish.

-"Rachael…! Wait…!" cried _Carousel_ to _Rachael_ in her dream… -"Tell me where you are…?" she asked… but then from the vanishing image of _Rachael_ … there slowly comes and slowly immerges an image that is fuming in anger, an image that is not _Rachael_ suddenly appeared very furious… _Carousel_ couldn't recognize the image because it was shining so bright, all _Carousel_ could see is that the silhouette of bright light was looking at her furiously and then _Carousel_ felt scared and was suddenly awakened; she was catching her breath and she was panting when she awoke.

-"Why…? What happened?" asked _Faust_ upon seeing _Carousel_ awoke… she was laid to rest at the back seat of 'Rookie'.

-"I saw Rachael in my dream… but then… there was this bright light again that appeared in my dream and it was looking at me very furiously." Replied _Carousel_

-"Do you think that it is the same entity that you saw at planet Iris…?" asked _Faust_

 _Carousel_ paused for awhile and tries to remember the entity that she saw at planet Iris. -"I guess so, but why was it looking at me so furiously…?" _Carousel_ asked -"Because when I saw that entity… that soul… in planet Iris, it was speaking to me so calmly… but why is it so furious at me right now..?" _Carousel_ asked herself -"Is it because I did not lead Demeon to the 'Devourer' that it was telling me to…?"

-"Or maybe now it wants to tell you something different." _Faust_ concluded

 _Carousel_ was silence for awhile when she noticed that they were actually moving… _Faust_ was looking at her as he was seated at the driver's seat at the front.

-"Where are we going?" asked _Carousel_

-"We're off to follow Demeon!" cried he as he was driving 'Rookie'

-"He's still alive…?"

-"Yes… I went to check on his body at the underground forest to see if he was really dead and that Mischief had really killed him. but then when I got there… his body was nowhere to be found, he wasn't there anymore so I immediately went back to Heraldin and told him about the situation… and then…"

-"Where's Heraldin…? _Carousel_ interrupted as she looked very worried

-"He's right behind us." Replied _Faust_ as _Carousel_ looked at the rear side of the window and saw _Heraldin's_ floting vessel flying beside them… _Carousel_ was then relieved to see _Heraldin_ who was following them.

-"And then… what…?" asked _Carousel_ as she held back and then she looks at _Faust_ …

-"Heraldin and I heard something was breaking and we looked around to see what it was… and then we saw from a far distance… that it was the glass windows on the top floor of the manor that was breaking… and that is where the sound was coming from… and then we saw Demeon flew out of those broken glass windows and he seem to be holding with his claw-like foot, his book of life… that's probably why he still has a book of life… so he could regain and remember all the things that he had lost during his death and now we're trying to catch him." _Faust_ explained

-"And its sure is difficult to come back to life if you don't have any memories of yourself once you died." _Carousel_ added

-"Tell me if you spot him…" said _Faust_ to _Carousel_ as he was looking around through the windows of his vessel… he was trying to spot where _Demeon_ might be hiding. -"He's hiding somewhere but he's severely injured so he can't hide for long." Said _Faust_

-"Faust, I think I need to go back to the academy… to the underground maze." _Carousel_ interrupted

-"But you already saw what happened to that place… you see… that place had been engulfed by a sudden giant sink hole…"

-"But… Rachael could still be there."

-"Wait…!" _Faust_ interrupted -"There's Demeon! I spotted him!" cried he as he saw _Demeon_ hiding through the cracked edges of a giant rock. -"Stay here…" said _Faust_ to _Carousel_ as he immediately put 'Rookie' to a stop and jumped out of his vessel and went straight ahead to where _Demeon_ was hiding.

 _Heraldin_ also followed upon seeing _Faust_ got out from his vessel.

-"There you are!" cried _Faust_ to _Demeon_ upon seeing him hiding through the cracked edges of a giant rock… _Demeon_ was severely injured.

 _Demeon's_ huge monstrous ears flickered and he knew then that he had been spotted by the three. -"What are you going to do? Kill me?" asked _Demeon_ teasingly as he was still tightly holding his book of life in his arms.

-"Why are you still alive? I thought that a soul stealer like Mischief can kill you?" asked _Faust_

-"That stupid offspring of mine forgot to consume my soul…" _Demeon_ replied with a laugh… -"And thankfully he did forget… because my soul was able to go back to my body and that is why I am still alive!" cried _Demeon_

-"You…? You have a soul?" asked _Faust_ -"But you're a soul stealer! How can you have a soul? Soul stealers are soulless creatures!"

-"But can't you see that I'm different from them…? I was never a soul seeker to begin with!" cried _Demeon_ -"I… I am the first… the last and the only of my kind… and I will never die!"

-"Then let's see about that… I guess I'll just have to kill you again!" cried _Faust_

-"Oh… but you can't." interrupted _Demeon_ -"You see… only soul stealers can kill me because you need to consume my soul once you have killed me… because if you don't… my soul will just go back to my body and I will repeatedly go back to life again…" _Demeon_ teasingly said -"Faust… can you even see a soul?" he asked with a mocking tone… -"Because I can surely see that you are not a soul seeker… you are just a splitter!" He added… -"Meaning… only a soul stealer can end my immortality!" cried _Demeon_ as he was laughing.

-"Then I… I will consume your soul!" cried _Heraldin_ , interrupting the two's conversation.

-"You…? You wish to become a soul stealer…? And become a soulless creature?" asked _Demeon_ to _Heraldin_ as he was heavily panting. -"Ha…ha…ha…! Then go ahead and become the creature that you despise so much!" _Demeon_ still manages to laugh at them even though he was already severely injured.

 _Heraldin_ was impassive as he slowly looked down… he did not know if the decision he will make is the right thing to do.

-"You really are a beast… a monster! You will pay for what you've done to my father! I will avenge my father's death!" cried _Faust_

 _Demeon_ wavered and slightly shook his head; he seems to be confused about what _Faust_ had said.

 _Faust_ heavily sighed -"So you don't remember…?" He asked as he took a deep breath and asks again… -"Does the name… Mario Toculla sounds familiar to you…? Does it ring any bell…?"

 _Demeon_ snarled at him… as _Demeon_ tries to remember… the things that he had just read from his book of life… _Demeon_ read something about _Faust's_ father… but he did not read his father's name, which was written at the first part of his book of life… which _Carousel_ had in her possession.

-"Is the name still familiar to you…? Or perhaps you've killed so many that you have forgotten the names of the Erishans that you've killed?"

-"Oh… now I remember… so he's your father…?" asked _Demeon_ as he slowly crouched towards _Faust_ … he then sniffed _Faust_ from head to foot… -"Yes… you are indeed his son… you smell just like your father…" said _Demeon_ -"I am desperately in need of a soul to consume right now and I bet your soul tastes even better than your father's." said _Demeon_ with a growl.

 _Faust_ replied with fuming anger as he punched _Demeon_ in the face with his mechanical arm and the two then fought intensely… _Heraldin_ also joined in the fight.

-"Let's take him down!" cried _Heraldin_ -"And I will consume his soul…" He added

 _Faust_ was taken aback… -"But… but… you will become a soulless…" he slowly said to _Heraldin_ … when all of a sudden… -"No! I… I will avenge your father's death… I will consume his soul…" _Carousel_ interrupted as she stepped outside of the floating vessel.

 _Faust_ was again taken aback when he heard _Carousel_ … he slowly looked back at 'Rookie' and saw _Carousel_ descending down the stairs and _Heraldin_ was glad to see that _Carousel_ was alright now.

-"You!" cried _Demeon_ to _Carousel_ upon seeing her… -"You are what I have been longing for… your soul is what I have been craving for since the very first time that I saw you… your soul will surely make me the most powerful being in this world." He added

-"So, it is really me that you want…?" asked _Carousel_ -"It's my soul, which you have long desired for after all… so why did you even use my friend Emoreh in your evil scheme? Why did you abduct him if it's my soul you want?" _Carousel_ asked angrily.

 _Demeon_ was confused. -"Emoreh…? Who's Emoreh…?" asked _Demeon_ as his tone was somewhat annoyed. -"Oh I remember…" He added -"That's the worthless boy… and good for nothing! He came to my academy with no real talents… and he hoped someday to become a splitter but up till the very end of his worthless life… he never cracked his hidden talents… that's because he never did have any!" cried _Demeon_ -"So tell me… why would I need his worthless soul?" he concluded

-"I don't know… you tell me…" Replied _Carousel_

-"So wait!" _Faust_ interrupted -"So you've always known Emoreh was just an ordinary Erishan…? So why did you let him stay in the academy for too long…?"

 _Demeon_ laughed -"That's how kind I am…" he said

 _Carousel's_ , _Faust's_ and _Heraldin's_ eyebrows were pulled down as their eyes narrowed.

-"Then I will be willing to end your kindness even it means turning myself into a soul stealer!" cried _Carousel_

-"Carousel, you don't need to do this…" said _Faust_ to _Carousel_ -"There must be some other way to destroy him… we could trap his soul and put it into a container." He added

-"You can't trap his soul forever, what if his soul accidentally escapes…? Then this whole thing will start all over again." Replied _Carousel_

-"We trap his soul then we destroy his body, then his soul will have nowhere else to go…!" cried _Faust_

-"Wrong…!" _Demeon_ teasingly interrupted –"Even if you destroy my body but as long as you do not destroy my soul… which the only way is by consuming my soul, then my soul will always find a way to summon my body…" explained _Demeon_ … -"You are underestimating my powers… I'm not ordinary you know…" said _Demeon_ as he looked at _Heraldin_ … -"Am I right…?" _Demeon_ asked _Heraldin_ …

-"Or…" _Faust's_ words were crumbling… -"Or we could lead him to the 'Devourer' just like what that soul entity told you to do." _Faust_ concluded as he looked up through the skies… -"But where exactly is that 'Devourer'…? I can't see it…" said _Faust_

 _Demeon_ just sighed heavily when he heard _Faust_ and _Carousel_ conversing and so he made that opportunity and decided to fly away… since he was still severely injured, there was little chance for him to defeat those three.

-"Look! He's getting away again!" cried _Heraldin_ upon seeing _Demeon_ flee.

But _Carousel_ , _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ then immediately followed _Demeon_ and the pursuit for _Demeon_ continued… _Demeon_ seems to be going to 'Midgar city', so the chase went on up until they reached 'Midgar city' and then they chased him all the way up until they have reached the 'Stellar Academy'… _Demeon_ was badly wounded as he tried to hide himself from the now ruined academy… -"What happened here?" _Demeon_ asked himself as he saw that his academy had collapsed and fell into a huge sinkhole… he tried to hide himself in one of the surviving shaft buildings of the academy. -"Now… I need to find out where Assailant could have hidden all the souls of the splitters that he had just purged." _Demeon_ said to himself

-"So… you led us here after all…" _Carousel_ mumbled to herself upon arriving at the academy, then she immediately went to where the huge sinkhole occurred and she started looking for _Rachael_ through the huge rubles and debris of the ruined underground maze… _Carousel_ dig and lifted huge blocks and pieces of rubles… she was so worried for _Rachael_ that she even forgot that they were actually in pursuit for _Demeon_. _Carousel_ just let _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ took care of finding _Demeon_.

Chapter Twenty one "Revelation"

Then as _Carousel_ was looking for _Rachael_ through the edges of the giant sinkhole… _Emery_ suddenly appeared from the unclear and dusty ambiance caused by the strong winds.

 _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes. -"Emery …! Emery is that you…?" cried _Carousel_ upon seeing _Emery_ walking from afar.

-"…" but _Emery_ did not reply… she was just looking down on the ground as usual.

-"You survived the purging too?" asked and cried _Carousel_ in surprise, she was feeling a bit relived to see _Emery_ survived the purging.

 _Demeon_ too… detected _Emery_ from afar with his echo locating skill as he showed huge interest in her. -"Hmmm… luckily that girl had survived Assailant's purging because I need to consume a soul right now for me to hasten my healing…" said _Demeon_ to himself as his ears flickered. -"You are a perfect candidate." _Demeon_ whispered to himself as he swiftly launched an attack towards _Emery_.

Meanwhile… _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ were looking for _Demeon_ when… they suddenly saw _Demeon_ flew across the building all the way to the edge of the huge sinkhole… and he was about to attack _Emery_. _Demeon_ growled as he plunged to get _Emery_ , but before he even tries to capture her… _Emery_ slowly looked up and stared at him intensely while he was on mid air… a few gaps away from her and moments later; _Demeon_ was obliterated… he turned into dusts and slowly vanishes through the windy air. His floating dark soul was all that's left from his remains… but _Emery_ destroyed it too…

 _Carousel_ , _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ were all stunned by what _Emery_ had done to _Demeon_ … they were all in total awe to see what had happened to _Demeon_ … they were left speechless.

 _Carousel_ then slowly approached _Emery_ as her eyes narrowed, in the meantime… _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ immediately went to the edge of the giant sinkhole where _Carousel_ and _Emery_ were…

-"W… wow…!" was all _Faust_ could say as he rushed to where _Carousel_ and _Emily_ were. -"How… how did you do that…?" asked _Faust_ in admiration towards _Emery_ … -"I never knew that you were such a powerful splitter." Said _Faust_ to _Emery_ … _Emery_ was emotionless as her eyes were stuck staring at the ground.

 _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes… then she unexpectedly ripped off _Emery's_ long garment off of her body leaving her standing there naked, _Carousel_ moved so fast that _Emery_ did not notice her hidden intention.

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ pulled their eyebrows down as they were left wondering why would _Carousel_ do such a thing to _Emery_ … exposing her naked body for them to see…

-"What is your purpose for doing this to her?" asked _Faust_ to _Carousel_ , he was feeling very anxious… but then… _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ noticed that _Emery_ was floating on midair; her toes were not touching the ground… _Faust's_ eyebrows were pulled down as he was looking very baffled.

-"She's a soul…! Emery is a soul entity!" cried _Carousel_ -"I have always wondered why I have never even seen her feet…! Not even once...! But now I know why…!" she concluded to _Emery_. –"And Emery was the one I saw in my dream that was looking at me furiously, not the soul entity at planet Iris…" said _Carousel_

 _Emery_ , who is always looking down to the ground then slowly lifted her very beautiful face and she smiled at them… her whole body also started to shine so brightly.

 _Faust_ raised his arm to shade his eyes from the intense light that he had suddenly witnessed. -"Emery is a soul…?" he anxiously asked -"She's definitely a one huge soul…!" He added

 _Emery_ was now fiercely looking at _Carousel_ and she spoke to her… -"Now that you have grown so strong… it's time for you to return to me…" said _Emery_ to _Carousel_ … but _Emery's_ lips was not even moving. -"You've grown stronger… so strong that you didn't even cry at first when your mother died… tell me, is it because she didn't have a soul…? _Emery_ asked sarcastically.

 _Carousel_ was taken aback… -"What are you saying…?" asked _Carousel_ as she looked very anxious.

-"You know what I'm saying…" _Emery_ said as she looked at her beguilingly… -"I have put you into this world to understand, to feel and to experience all there is to know…" replied _Emery_ in a very soft voice. -"You have experienced to grow from a reckless mother that did not nurture you well and who forgot to even look at you when you almost drowned… but I was always there for you…" said _Emery_

 _Carousel_ then remembered what had happened to her when she was just a little girl… when she was playing near the edges at 'Lake Midgar'… where she saw a bizarre liquid like creature that suddenly appeared in front of her… _Carousel_ now understands that it was _Emery_ who prevented her from falling into a certain pit of the lake's deep edges.

 _Emily_ continued speaking but her lips remained unmoved… but they could still hear her speak. -"You have experienced that the one you loved the most was taken away from you…"

 _Carousel_ was again taken aback upon hearing those words from _Emery_ … _Carousel's_ eyes widened as she tries to clear her voice. -"So that is why you took Emoreh… away from me…" said _Carousel_ to _Emery_ in a very soft voice that _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ barely even heard.

-"So, you have finally figured out…" said _Emery_ with a smile

 _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ were just looking at each other in complete puzzlement.

 _Carousel_ was intensely looking at _Emery_. -"So, you were the one who took Emoreh to the ruins of Goban Shrine." Said _Carousel_ as she slowly looked at _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ … and then she looked back at _Emery_ again and said… -"And you are the soul that Demeon had seen in me…" _Carousel_ concluded

-"I'm impressed…" said _Emery_ to _Carousel_

 _Heraldin_ then tried to read _Emery's_ mind… but before he even tries to channel into her thoughts… _Heraldin_ felt an immense pain in his head… that made him stopped the channeling into _Emery's_ mind and then he remembered; -"Carousel is right… you were that powerful being that I accidentally channeled into… when I was reading Emoreh's mind." _Heraldin_ mumbled to him self. -"You certainly have great powers that no one actually knew of." _Heraldin_ thought to him self.

-"I am power itself which no one is capable of knowing… unless I show it…" replied _Emery_ in a soft tone…

-"And I suspect that you are also the one who destroyed the 'embloig' at the research laboratory… because judging from what you are… you are the only one with the power to do so… and Dimitris told me that he had never let you into that research laboratory… but why did I saw you in there…?" asked _Carousel_

 _Emery_ just smiled at _Carousel_ …

-"Now it's all clear to me, but… What is your point in doing all of these… to me…?" asked _Carousel_

-"So I can be… a god… I need your strong soul for me to become a god…" _Emery_ softly replied

 _Carousel_ was puzzled as her eyes narrowed…

So _Emery_ explained; -"Like what I have said… you are a part of me… and I have put you into this world to understand, to feel and to experience all there is to know… and now that you have learned and experienced all of these, you have now become stronger… you have now come to know how to control your emotions… now it's time for you to return to me… and together we can be… a god." Said _Emery_ as she paused for awhile… -"Now choose… whether you want to continue your life in this miserable place or do you want to return to me and together we can be a god." Said _Emery_

-"A god…? So that's what you want to become…?"

-"Yes… and I have put you to…"

-"To suffer…" interrupted _Carousel_ -"You let me live here so I could suffer and endure all the pain and suffering that you cannot bear…!" cried _Carousel_ -"And… No…! I am not a part of you…" replied _Carousel_ with a strong conviction. -"I am my own self…! I have my own mind… I have my own feelings… I have my own will…! I am not a part of you!"

 _Emery_ slowly looked down and softly said… -"But you are…" said she as her lips was not moving as usual… -"A part of me wanted to become a god… but the other part of me did not… and that part of me was you…" _Emery_ added -"And so I took you out within me and prepared you for your own destiny… so you could choose what you want to become…" _Emery_ then lifted her face and she looked back at _Carousel_ … -"Your mother's real daughter was born in this world very sick and dying… because of the harmful environment that the Erishans had made into this world… and when she left her very sick child unattended for a moment… her child who was very weak had suddenly stopped breathing and died… and that is when I switched you over to her dead child."

 _Carousel_ shook her head… -"No, you're lying…!" she cried

-"Do I look like I'm lying to you…?" asked _Emery_ to Carousel in a soft voice… she looked at her with a grim. -"Now… return to me… and your pain and suffering will go away and together we can be a god…!" said _Emery_ as she unleashed a powerful vortex in front of her that was slowly sucking _Carousel_ towards her… _Carousel_ then tries to resist the force as she clamps her feet unto the ground… but _Emery_ was too powerful, _Carousel_ was slowly being consumed by the vortex…

 _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ also tried to help _Carousel_ to break her free from the raging vortex with their own special skills… _Faust_ transformed his arms into mechanical Gatling guns and fired multiple shots at _Emery_ … but the ammunitions were obliterated just before it even hit _Emery_ … _Heraldin_ also used his telekinetic skill to prevent _Carousel_ from being engulfed by the swirling vortex, but again _Emery's_ power was so immense… when all of a sudden… _Rachael_ appeared at the back of _Carousel_ and pulled her out from the raging vortex… _Emery_ was stunned to see _Rachael_ , her eyes glowed even brighter. _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ were also surprised to see _Rachael_ who unexpectedly came out from nowhere.

-"I thought… I destroyed you… but you proved to be stronger than I thought…" said _Emery_ to _Rachael_ as she looked back at _Carousel_ … -"You've made quite a strong alter ego…" said _Emery_ to _Carousel_ …

-"Alter… ego…?" asked _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ … as they were taken aback.

-"I should have destroyed you from the very first day she created you…" said _Emery_ to _Rachael_ as her eyes were fuming in anger…

-"But you didn't…" said _Rachael_

-"Yes… I did not destroy you, because you were the only one she's got… she had no friends… no real love from her mother… she had nothing… except for you." Replied _Emery_ to _Rachael_ … -"And that is also why she created you…" _Emery_ concluded -"But now… you are a hurdle in all my plans." Said _Emery_ as she destroyed _Rachael_ once again…with a quick sway of her hand, _Rachael's_ body was obliterated in the air once again… exploding like a mist in the air…

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ was in total awe… -"Rachael…!" cried _Heraldin_ as he prepared to attack _Emery_ , but then he was quickly brushed aside by _Emery_ … _Heraldin_ was looking very angry towards _Emery_ for what she had done to his daughter, but _Carousel_ remained unmoved, her eyes were intensely looking at _Emery's_ … and then moments later… _Rachael_ came back from the obliterated mist in the air… and that it slowly transforming her back into herself.

-"You can never destroy me… I will always be around as long as Carousel needs me…" said _Rachael_ to _Emery_.

 _Emery_ was not surprised that she wasn't able to destroy _Rachael_ … but instead she sighed and said… -"Then, let's see if she will still have a need for you…" said _Emery_ to _Rachael_ as she slowly faced _Carousel_ … -"Return to me… and all the pain and suffering that you have felt in this world will be over."

-"No… I will never return to you…! I have learned to embrace the pain and suffering in this world and I wish to continue living on my own…" replied _Carousel_ -"As long as Rachael is with me… I can overcome anything…!" _Carousel_ concluded

-"Then, you leave me no choice…" replied _Emery_ with a grin, she wasn't happy about what _Carousel_ had said to her, then she created a much bigger vortex in front of her… sucking in everything in its surroundings.

-"If she is a soul entity… a soul that you say that she is…" said _Heraldin_ to _Carousel_ -"Then, we need to put her inside her body… we can't fight a soul, because it would be easier for us to defeat her in that kind of state… but we need to find her body first… where could her body be…?" _Heraldin_ anxiously asked.

-"We are standing on it…" replied _Carousel_

 _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ then looked around… wondering what _Carousel_ was talking about.

-"You mean her body is hidden somewhere here…?" asked _Faust_ as he thumped the ground with his right foot.

 _Heraldin_ narrowed his eyes and said… -"I think what Carousel meant… is that, this whole place, this whole planet is her body."

 _Faust's_ eyes widened in awe… -"How…how can that be…?"

-"Emery is… Eris…" interrupted _Carousel_ -"This planet that we are all living in, is her body… and that entity that you are now looking at… is the soul of this planet." Explained _Carousel_

 _Faust_ was stunned to know that they were actually witnessing the soul of their own planet… Eris.

-"Emery… I mean Eris…" cried _Faust_ -"Stop what you're doing…! You are destroying the whole place… and by doing so, you are actually destroying yourself." Cried _Faust_ as he was witnessing the huge vortex that _Emery_ has created in front of her… that is now slowly sucking in all the possible things in its surroundings… then _Emery_ slowly turned to face _Faust_ … she spoke to him but her lips remained tightly shut.

-"Yes, I am the one you call Eris, and what you suggest that I should do…? When all of you had already destroyed my body…?" asked _Eris_ in a very soft tone… -"I had given life to all of you… I have nurtured all of you… but what did you all do to me in return…?"

 _Faust_ was taken aback as he realizes what _Eris_ meant and he paused for awhile… -"But it was Demeon who started the 'Great War' and he was the one who was responsible for all the destruction in this world." Replied _Faust_

-"Don't just blame him for his own actions, but also blame yourselves because all of you had contributions to his actions… all of you had the power to stop the war that took place, if you really wanted to… but deep inside in all of you… you all wanted to have a 'Great War' to happen so you could separate the ordinary Erishans from the gifted ones… the 'splitters' like you…" Said _Eris_ to _Faust_ … -"Deep inside in all of you… you all wanted to wipe out… the Erishans with no hidden talents."

-"That's not true…!" cried _Faust_ -"Not all of us are the same, some of us do care about each other, cares about this world we live in." he added

-"I heard of those words countless times already, I have been witnessing the evolution of your kind for centuries and nothing has changed, so many so called heroes had lived and died…" said _Eris_ with a slight laugh… as _Eris_ showed them her visions of the past where there seems to be _Erishans_ who were trying to rebuild their broken nation. -"But your history repeats itself. You all think you're all special but none of you are…" said _Eris_ as she starts to unravel the things that had happened in her body for millions of years. –"Your kind is not the first to walk in my body, to walk in this world." Said _Eris_ as visions of other intelligent species and creatures starts to walk around their surroundings, _Eris_ was letting them see the other creatures that had existed in her body before the _Erishans_ , which later on… dies and becomes extinct…

 _Carousel_ , _Rachael_ , _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ were all just watching their surroundings as it started to change.

-"This world, this body of mine used to be so much more beautiful so much lush, when your kind wasn't around." Said _Eris_ as she let them see her lushious, beautiful but imaginary surroundings, the forest was lush; the waters were clear as so as the air and the skies above, two moons were still seen during the night. –"And now, this is what my body looks like…" said _Eris_ as she magically vanish the beautiful surroundings they were all in and started to let them see the real surroundings, which is barren and the weather is chaotic. –"Now, this is what your kind did to me… all of you are just the same…" said _Eris_

-"But not all of us wanted this to happen!" cried _Faust_

-"Tell that to your father…" replied _Eris_

 _Faust_ was left speechless… he did not know what to say.

-"I can see everything… nothing remains hidden from me." _Eris_ added

-"But, not all of us wanted the 'Great War' to happen…" interrupted _Heraldin_ -"Only Erishans who have hatred in their hearts wanted that war to happen… I had never felt any hatred towards anybody, either a splitter nor be it just an ordinary Erishan with no hidden talents."

 _Eris_ then sarcastically smiled at _Heraldin_ and said to him… -"Are you sure…? Because I certainly did not sense that when you were dying… but instead I felt hatred in your heart that motivated you to continue to live…" said _Eris_

 _Heraldin_ paused for awhile as he now remembers the voice that he had heard when he was dying… it was the same voice that he is now hearing from _Eris_ …

-"It was… you…" said _Heraldin_ to _Eris_ as his eyes widened.

 _Eris_ just sarcastically smiled at him… "You've figured?" _Eris_ mockingly asked and began attacking them with her powerful attacks… she made the ground shake, she made the winds stronger, she made all the possible elements in that world ravish. It was like they were witnessing the end of their world.

-"Since all of you wanted to destroy each other… then I might as well destroy you all… and before you all start to destroy me again." Said _Eris_

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ was no match for _Eris'_ tremendous power… _Eris_ has the power of all the elements.

-"That's enough…!" cried _Carousel_ as she was witnessing how _Eris_ was making _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ suffer. -"I will return to you… but only if you promise me to keep them and this world safe… for all the Erishans to live in." said _Carousel_ to _Eris_

-"Yes, I would take your offer… even though I can sense that you are not really willing to return to me… but I promise you – you will never again experience the bitterness that this world has bestowed upon you… I will assure you that you will refuse this kind of life and join me to become… a god." _Eris_ quickly replied

 _Carousel_ then started to walk slowly towards _Eris_ …

-"Carousel…! No…!" cried _Faust_

-"We at least have to try my plan…" _Heraldin_ whispered to _Faust_ … as _Faust_ nodded. He then pressed a series of buttons in his metallic wrist band to let 'Rookie' know where their whereabouts…

 _Rachael_ then tightly embraced _Carousel_ from behind… -"Is this what you really want…?" asked _Rachael_ softly

-"I don't need to tell you… you know what I really want… you are the only one who is making me feel strong right now, Rachael please don't let go of me, I need you." replied _Carousel_ as she continued to walk towards _Eris_

-"I won't… I will always be here for you, always…" _Rachael_ replied softly

-"Don't even try to change your mind… because I can read your thoughts…" said _Eris_ as she sensed the hesitations that _Carousel_ was feeling.

-"But can you still read her mind now…?" asked _Rachael_ as she slowly merged herself to _Carousel_ … _Rachael_ and _Carousel_ then unified and became as one… _Carousel's_ alter ego has finally returned to her and _Carousel_ has then inherited all the skills that _Rachael_ had developed. And now, _Eris_ couldn't read _Carousel's_ thoughts because _Carousel_ has now a mind reading skill which she got from _Rachael_.

 _Carousel_ then had stopped from walking towards _Eris_ … she paused for awhile to feel her alter ego inside her… -"I feel different…" _Carousel_ thought to herself as _Eris_ was now becoming impatient of the situation. _Eris_ then flew towards _Carousel_ , but _Faust_ manages to grab hold of _Carousel_ and took her aside before _Eris_ could have the time to capture her. _Faust_ then quickly took control of 'Rookie' with his metallic wrist band and made his vessel distract _Eris_ … 'Rookie' bashed _Eris_ from side to side using its teleportation mode that even made _Eris_ difficult for her to spot Rookie. Rookie was appearing from side to side… it was being teleported in such an immense speed of time… that even _Eris_ herself was distracted… but again _Eris_ ; a soul entity, who possesses great powers that even no one really knows of… slowly looked into _Faust's_ eyes and read through his mind… she read what his next plan was… so she knew right away where 'Rookie' will next appear; and from then on _Eris_ manages to evade all of Rookie's distraction.

-"You pathetic creatures… you think you can outsmart me…" said _Eris_

-"We need to pound her to the ground fast… so she will be stuck to her body forever." Suggested _Heraldin_ to _Carousel_

-"But how are we goanna suppose to do that…?" interrupted _Faust_ -"She knows our every move… do you have any other suggestions…?" He added

-"That's the only plan I've got right now." Replied _Heraldin_

 _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes… -"Okay… now that Rachael is inside of me… Eris cannot possibly read my thoughts… and I will be the one to place her to the ground… into her body, where she truly belongs…" said _Carousel_

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ then prepared themselves to attack _Eris_ … but _Carousel_ interrupted them… -"Stop…! Eris will surely destroy both of you… I will just be the one to do it…" she said

-"But…!" _Faust_ interrupted too

-"Don't worry… I know that Eris will never hurt me… because she desperately needs me…" she softly said as she quickly ran towards _Eris_ …

-"Eris…!" cried _Carousel_ upon seeing her… -"If you want me… then you'll have to catch me first." She said to _Eris_

-"If that's what you want…" replied _Eris_ as she quickly flew after _Carousel_ … the chase took place… and _Carousel_ then ran as fast as she could… she ran through the dry and dusty windy place of the academy… _Eris_ was following right behind her… everything that _Carousel_ tries to do… _Eris_ has an answer… until… 'Rookie' suddenly appeared in front of _Carousel_ and then… _Faust_ opened the door and he immediately grabbed hold of _Carousel_ into his vessel.

-"Get in…!" cried _Faust_ to _Carousel_ as he quickly grabbed _Carousel_ into his vessel and he immediately teleported them instantly into his underground shelter. _Eris_ was left unsurprised about the situation as she slowly grinned.

Meanwhile… they were all teleported into _Faust's_ underground shelter… -"I guess Eris won't find us in here… at least it would give us enough time to plan our attack." said _Faust_

-"I'm not so sure about that…" replied _Carousel_ as _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ were in total bleak… and moments later… they heard a great commotion on the surface… _Carousel_ was right… _Eris_ had followed them right behind…

-"Do you think… that you could actually hide from me… this world is my body." said _Eris_ as she slowly descended to where 'Rookie' was… and she was intensely looking at _Faust_.

 _Faust_ gulped down in fear… -"I didn't expect that she would find us so easily…" He softly said

-"I guess Eris also read your thoughts… before you even managed to teleport us in here…" said _Heraldin_ in a soft tone…

-"What now…?" asked _Faust_ in total awe… upon seeing _Eris_ who is slowly walking in front of them and she seems to be in no mood to play hide and seek with them.

-"Heraldin…" _Carousel_ called in a soft voice… -"I want you to bury us both to the ground when you have the chance… Eris cannot read our thoughts, so it's only you who could help me right now." _Carousel_ concluded

 _Eris_ then touched 'Rookie' and obliterated it completely… leaving the three who are inside the vessel completely unharmed; they were the only ones that are left of 'Rookie'… _Eris_ destroyed 'Rookie' but leaving them all unscathed.

-"What the…?" cried _Faust_ upon seeing his floating vessel vanished in thin air… they were all floored to the ground upon 'Rookie's' disposal.

 _Eris_ then slowly lifted her hand and _Faust_ was slowly being raised on the ground… _Faust_ was now floating on mid air… just like _Eris_ …

And _Faust_ then wobbled in wonder… his eyes widened…

Then _Eris_ is slowly shutting her fist… and _Faust_ began to feel hysterical, he was choking, he couldn't breathe…

-"Stop…!" cried _Carousel_ to _Eris_ … -"Leave him alone…! It's me that you want… not him… I said I will return to you… but only if you promise me that you won't harm him…"

 _Eris_ then smiled at _Carousel_ and she slowly lets go of _Faust_. -"Then return to me now… my beloved Carousel… before you get yourself hurt again…" said _Eris_ as she slightly turned to look at _Faust_ … she was sarcastically smiling at _Faust_ , _Faust_ on the other hand was floundering and coughing on the ground and he was feeling his neck from the choking that he received from _Eris_.

 _Carousel_ then slowly started to walk towards _Eris_ again and she raised her arms to embrace _Eris_ … _Eris_ was reluctant to touch _Carousel_ because now the latter, could not read her mind. _Carousel_ then held _Eris'_ bright and shining body… _Carousel_ suddenly felt a burning sensation, a burning bliss upon making contact with _Eris_ … she then slowly embraced _Eris_ with her arms… _Eris_ is still reluctant but she still accepted _Carousel's_ offer leaving her oblivious of the situation and before _Carousel_ fully merged herself with _Eris_ … _Carousel_ pulled her down and huge lumps of rocks fell on top of them… _Heraldin_ buried them both to the ground using his telekinetic skill… the ground then shook extremely and latter settled down…

 _Heraldin_ was feeling uncertain if his plan had actually worked… as he was brought to his knees… in the meantime… _Faust_ was still on the ground anxiously looking at the rubles that buried _Carousel_ and _Eris_ to the ground.

-"Did it work…?" _Faust_ anxiously asked

-"I don't know…" replied _Heraldin_ as he slowly went to where the ruble is… then the rubles stirred and _Heraldin_ was taken aback… he wasn't sure if it was _Carousel_ or _Eris_ … who will come out of the rubles… but then it was _Carousel_ who slowly raised her hand to be known that she was alright… _Heraldin_ sighed in relief… he then helped _Carousel_ out of the ruble. _Heraldin_ was still very wary of the situation as he waits for _Eris_ to appear… but then _Eris_ did not.

And then…the chaotic weather, the turmoil condition of the planet had suddenly stopped… signifying that they really did put a stop to _Eris_. Planet _Eris_ now, had suddenly became more peaceful and calm.

-"It worked…! Merging Eris' soul with her body made her stop!" cried _Faust_ from afar upon seeing _Carousel_ emerging from the rubles.

-"But not for long…" replied _Carousel_ in a soft tone… and shudders the debris out from her ripped clothes…

 _Heraldin's_ eyebrows were pulled down as he narrowed his eyes. He couldn't read _Carousel's_ mind anymore…

-"When I have made contact with Eris… I have felt… what Eris really wanted to do…" _Carousel_ slowly said

 _Heraldin_ looked very intrigued while _Faust_ slowly walked towards them and listened to their conversation…

-"What do you mean…?" _Heraldin_ anxiously asked _Carousel_

-"Eris… plans to destroy this world…" replied _Carousel_

-"But… how about …? I thought this is… its… b… o… d… y…?" _Faust_ slowly asked as he was looking very confounded.

-"Body…?" _Carousel_ interrupted -"Yes, this world is its body but Eris doesn't need this world anymore… for her… she feels that this world has no value anymore because of what the Erishans did to its body… and that is why she wants to become a god so she wouldn't need a host… a world, a body anymore." _Carousel_ added

-"If Eris plans to destroy this world… then… Where are we all goanna live…? Where will all the people of Eris goanna live…? What are we goanna do now…? Asked _Faust_ …

 _Carousel_ narrowed her eyes and slowly looked up through the now clear skies of the planet and said… -"It is not safe to live here anymore. We need to gather all the remaining Erishans and put them all in there… at Iris… that is a more peaceful planet." _Carousel_ suggested

-"You're right…" _Faust_ concluded -"But how are we going to do that…?" he asked

-"I have an idea…" interrupted _Heraldin_ as he was pressing a series of buttons on his floating vessel's remote control which he took out from his pocket. -"Let's go to my underground shelter." _Heraldin_ added

 _Faust_ then suddenly became emotional… he suddenly remembered what happened to his floating vessel 'Rookie'…

-"I'm sorry…" _Carousel_ said sympathetically…

-"There is really nothing much we could do…" said _Heraldin_

-"I know…" replied _Faust_

There was silence for awhile, but then… _Faust_ and _Carousel_ looked at each other and they both understood what _Heraldin_ wanted them to do.

 _Heraldin_ , _Faust_ and _Carousel_ then quickly ascended to the surface where _Heraldin's_ floating vessel was waiting for them. The three then immediately boarded _Heraldin's_ floating vessel.

-"Do you know how long it will take Eris to recover…?" _Heraldin_ asked _Carousel_ as he was maneuvering his vessel.

-"I don't really know… we just made Eris sleep so I don't know when will be its awakening, but all I know is that we really don't have much time." _Carousel_ abruptly replied

Chapter Twenty two "Iris at last"

And while they were riding the floating vessel… and they were heading straight at _Heraldin's_ shelter… _Faust_ asked _Carousel_ … -"Is Rachael… really an alter ego of yours?"

-"Yes…" _Carousel_ abruptly replied, she is now looking more serious than before when answering questions, _Carousel's_ perky attitude simply vanished…

-"No wonder she always just comes out from nowhere, I mean… anywhere…" said _Faust_ as _Heraldin_ looked somewhat saddened.

-"That explains it…" _Heraldin_ slowly said… as his eyes narrowed. -"Three years ago… Rachael suddenly disappeared… I looked everywhere for her, but I couldn't find her anywhere, but when you two… arrived at my shelter, to seek my help in Emoreh's disappearance…" as he slowly sighed… -"That… that was the first time that I saw her again…, since she suddenly disappeared… for almost three years ago…"

 _Carousel_ slowly looked down and just smiled.

-"So, uhm… have you really known about this ever since? That Rachael is actually your alter ego… or did you just recently find out about it…?" asked _Faust_

-"I just recently found out about it… when I had that dream again that I used to have." Replied _Carousel_ as she smiled at _Faust_ -"And my dream also revealed who Emery really was… because she was also there."

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ just nodded

-"All these years… I have finally understood the meaning of my dream… and that is why I knew that Rachael was my alter ego…" said _Carousel_ as she paused for awhile and then continued telling them… -"Everything that I reluctantly wanted to tell… Rachael will always tell it… and every time I need her, every time I wanted to see her… she will always come out anywhere and that is the reason why she's always there with me when I need her." _Carousel_ added -"And deep inside of me… I can still feel her right now… and she doesn't want to leave me anymore…" _Carousel_ concluded as she tries to feel and embrace her own body.

-"But… if Rachael is just your alter ego, then why can I see her…?" asked _Faust_ -"Why can Heraldin see her too…? Why can all the splitters in the academy see her…?"

-"Because, you all have hidden talents… hidden skills…" replied _Carousel_ -"That is why you can all see my alter ego, you can all see Rachael." She added

 _Faust_ narrowed his eyes and said… -"But… but when you introduced Rachael to us… Emoreh saw her too…" _Faust_ slowly said -"Then maybe Emoreh was not just an ordinary Erishan after all… like what we all thought that he was… then he did have a hidden talent after all." _Faust_ concluded

 _Carousel_ then tries to remember the past scene that _Faust_ was talking about, as she slowly looked out the window of the vessel and said… -"No…! Emoreh did not see her at that time… he just pretended that he saw her… and he never did see nor knows anything about Rachael." _Carousel_ added –"Emoreh has no hidden talents, no hidden skills." _Carousel_ continued saying…

 _Faust's_ eyes widened as he now remembers and understood why _Emoreh_ acted so strangely when they both met with _Rachael_ before.

Moments later… they had reached the 'Ruined city of Harlow' and then reached _Heraldin's_ shelter… which the façade of the shelter looks like a cave house; they all hurriedly went out off the vessel and straight into _Heraldin's_ shelter, they went down and descended through the underground shelter… which in fact was a huge combat vessel. They all hurriedly went into the control room and _Heraldin_ then sat at the control panel of the huge combat vessel and started to turn on the engines of the vessel, by pressing a series of buttons.

-"I hope this works…" said _Heraldin_ as he controlled and is maneuvering the huge combat vessel… _Faust_ also helped maneuver the huge combat vessel… as he sat on the other side of the control panel, opposite of _Heraldin_.

-"It worked…!" cried _Faust_ as the huge combat vessel started to shake the ground and started to fly…

-"You did it… you've fixed it…" said _Heraldin_ to _Faust_

-"We need to gather all the remaining 'Erishans' left in this world." Said _Carousel_

The three then sat on the control panel and braced them selves for takeoff… the hill-like mount besides _Heraldin's_ shelter then started to erode exposing a small part of the huge combat vessel… and then moments later the huge combat vessel is still stuck underneath the ground.

-"We're still stuck…!" cried _Heraldin_ as the huge combat vessel could not take off, it just kept shaking the ground… trying to let loose from being jammed. -"We can't move… this vessel must have been fixed here for too long… it couldn't shake off the ground…" said _Heraldin_

 _Faust_ then stood up from being seated at the control panel and said… -"I'll go check it out and see what I can do…" He said

-"I'll help…" _Carousel_ interrupted

-"No, just help him fly this vessel." Said _Faust_ to _Carousel_ as he quickly got out from the shelter and started to transform his mechanical arms into Gatling guns again… his layered attire's sleeves were ripped off… because of the constant transformation that he was doing to his arms. _Faust_ then fired multiple shots of ammunition through the edges of the huge combat vessel to try to free it from being wedged to the ground.

-"Just try not to hit us…" _Heraldin_ mumbled to him self as he and _Carousel_ were feeling the effects of what _Faust_ was doing.

And moments later; _Faust_ had successfully freed the huge combat vessel from being jammed into the ground. _Heraldin_ and _Carousel_ tries to fly the vessel again… and it worked… they had successfully maneuvered the huge combat vessel into take off… _Faust_ then quickly got inside the vessel before it fully took off…

The huge combat vessel… shaped like a giant capsule then flew through the skies…

As they were flying through the clear skies, _Faust_ noticed the millions of asteroids that are floating just outside the atmosphere of their planet.

-"How are we goanna get through those…?" asked _Faust_ as he was looking at the millions of asteroids in the skies.

-"That is not our main concern right now…" replied _Heraldin_ -"First, what we need right now is to gather all the Erishans and get them all out of this planet." He added

And so the three went into all the different realms of the world and gathered all the Erishans that they could possibly see…

The Erishans from all over the ruined cities are easier to be convinced by them… but the Erishans from the city of Midgar proved to be more difficult to convince… the Erishans there are very skeptic about the whole situation… they just don't believe that their city is about to collapse and that it is the end of their world… they found it very ridiculous and absurd… they thought that it was just a natural catastrophe that they had always been experiencing. _Heraldin_ tried very hard to persuade them but they just didn't feel like listening to him. They are very confident that their great city can withstand any catastrophe that will happen. They are very confident that they had built a great city.

-"Heraldin… we don't have much time…" said _Carousel_ in a soft voice… she was insinuating that they need to leave them and move on.

-"But what about them…? We can't just leave them here…" replied _Heraldin_ as he was looking very concerned.

 _Carousel_ then looked back at the hundreds of Erishans whom they had gathered inside their huge combat vessel and said… -"And what about them…?" she asked in return as the Erishans were embracing each other in fear.

 _Heraldin_ slowly looked down and was then very reluctant to board the vessel.

-"Let's go…!" cried _Faust_ as he ordered the Erishans to just stay still in the many quarters of the huge combat vessel.

And the huge combat vessel is now heading for… planet Iris.

And as the huge combat vessel is heading for planer Iris… the atmosphere started to change again… from being calm into being chaotic once again. Red storms and dark clouds started to cover the clear skies, giant sink holes starts to appear once more, sturdy earthquakes and erupting volcanoes started to occur once again and strong gusts of winds starts to disturb the huge combat vessel. All possible kinds of weather disturbances had started to occur once again, but it was so much more intense than before.

-"Eris… is here…" _Carousel_ softly said upon witnessing the weather transition, while _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ were looking very anxious and they were very worried if they could still get pass through the millions of asteroids that are floating just outside the atmosphere now that they couldn't see them clearly because the skies had suddenly turned violent once again… _Carousel_ slowly walked towards the exit door of the huge combat vessel and was about to open it…

-"Carousel…! Don't open that…!" cried _Faust_ -"What are you trying to do now…?" he asked

-"I'm going to put a stop to Eris." Replied _Carousel_ -"I'm going to lead her to the 'Devourer' and let it consume her." She added

-"Is that the only way…? I don't want you to go…!" cried _Faust_ as he quickly prevented _Carousel_ from opening the exit door of the huge combat vessel.

-"Yes… and we don't have any other choice…" replied _Carousel_

-"But… I'll go with you then… I promised to protect you… did I…?"

-"No, now that almost all the 'splitters' are gone… the people of Eris needs you… you need to lead them to planet Iris."

-"But… but Heraldin is here… he can do that…" replied _Faust_ as he was trying to clear his throat. -"I want to come with you."

 _Carousel_ slightly shook her head and said… -"I'm not even sure if what I'm about to do will truly stop her… because if I don't succeed in leading her to the 'Devourer'… then I will have no choice but to return to her… and what will become of you… if you will come with me…?"

 _Faust_ was fighting back his tears… -"So you're just goanna leave me like this…?" His voice nearly fainted

-"I want you to go on living and wait for my return…" _Carousel_ replied softly as she embraced _Faust_.

-"And… when will you return…?" He slowly asked as he did not embraced _Carousel_.

-"I don't know when… but I will return…"

-"Promise me… you will return to me…"

-"Yes, I promise…"

-"You sure… you really don't want me to come with you…?" He slowly asked as he held _Carousel's_ cheeks and slowly raised her head up from looking down. -"Are you sure… you're just goanna be alright…?"

-"Yes, and don't worry too much about me… I… I have Rachael inside me, she will keep me strong." _Carousel_ softly replied as she felt her chest and briefly closed her eyes… -"And besides… how will you come with me…? Rookie has been destroyed." _Carousel_ added

 _Faust_ slightly puffed out… -"And how about you…? How will you lead Eris to the 'Devourer' like you're planning to do?"

-"Remember… Rachael is inside me… and she has the ability to move objects with her mind."

 _Faust_ widened his eyes and pulled his eyebrows up as he gave _Carousel_ a somewhat hesitant expression… -"I don't really know what you mean by that… but I have faith in what you will do and I believe that you will succeed."

-"Thank… you…" _Carousel_ slowly replied as she narrowed her eyes…

Then… they were suddenly distracted by _Heraldin's_ call on the speakers on the side walls…

-"There she is…!" cried _Heraldin_ upon seeing _Eris_ through the huge transparent windshield of the combat vessel's cockpit from down below … _Eris_ the 'soul entity' is slowly emerging from the waters edges of a raging ocean… and _Eris_ is now slowly striding towards the shore as it is slowly emerging from the waters.

 _Carousel_ then heard _Heraldin's_ loud cry and she immediately opened the exit door of the huge combat vessel and was about to jump out when she noticed that their vessel was heading for and is about to collide with a huge asteroid in front of them… they didn't became aware of the asteroid because it was almost zero visibility in the sky… it was only the combat vessel's radar that detected it but because of the strong turbulence of the strong winds were making… _Heraldin_ did not hear the warning and _Carousel_ is too far away from the cockpit… she and _Faust_ was at the exit door, located at opposite side of the cockpit… that's why she didn't hear it, and it's now too late for their huge combat vessel to make a turn and avoid the huge asteroid… so _Carousel_ immediately called for _Heraldin_ , but _Heraldin_ was busy controlling the huge combat vessel so _Carousel_ had no choice but to move that giant asteroid away from their vessel alone by herself with the use of her now telekinetic ability… and luckily it worked…

-"That was close…!" cried _Faust_ upon successfully avoiding the collision with the huge asteroid… they were now leaving the final layer of the planet's atmosphere…

-"Rachael helped me…" _Carousel_ softly replied

 _Carousel_ then looked from down below and she saw _Eris_ from a far slowly emerging from the waters… _Carousel's_ eyesight is as sharp as ever even if strong gusts of winds were blowing her eyes and hair… _Faust_ then held _Carousel's_ hand tightly.

 _Carousel_ slowly turned to face _Faust_ … -"I must go now…" said _Carousel_ as she looked into _Faust's_ eyes with complete sincerity… _Faust_ then slowly let her hand go…

-"We'll take it from here…" _Heraldin_ said to _Carousel_ with a smile as he rushed to where the exit doors were because the huge combat vessel was now stabilized… and has been put to an automatic drive, but _Faust_ appears to be very gloomy. _Carousel_ then jumped out of the huge combat vessel's exit door and as she was falling through the skies… she saw _Faust_ from a glance… his eyes were watery and he was still fighting back his tears… and she overheard him say the words… -"I… love… you…"

The huge combat vessel then continued to fly forward towards planet Iris… firing at all the possible asteroids that they might collide into… the huge combat vessel flew until it was no longer visible through the skies…

 _Carousel_ then dropped to the ground with her feet slightly buried through the sands because of the strong impact. And she landed exactly in front where _Eris_ had appeared… _Carousel_ is standing through the edge of the ocean while facing _Eris_ who was floating on the shore of the raging ocean… As _Eris_ finally emerged from the waters and started to float… _Carousel_ noticed that the last drop of water that flowed down from _Eris'_ toes became an ' _embloig_ '… _Carousel's_ eyes widened in astonishment…

-"This creature is born every time I part with my body…" _Eris_ softly explained as she did not need to be asked by _Carousel_ … -"This creature serves as a reminder of my every parting with my body." _Eris_ added as she smiled at _Carousel_ … then she slowly looked up the skies and heavily sighed.

-"Eris… it's me that you want not them…" cried _Carousel_ as she did not want _Eris_ to follow the huge combat vessel that is about to leave the planet.

-"I know… you think I would go after them…?" _Eris_ sarcastically asked… -"Never!" she quickly said… -"It's my pleasure for them to leave my body… and it's going to be very unfortunate for the next host that they will be seeking… because they will just destroy it just like what they did to me… and I will make sure that there is nothing for them to come back here." Said _Eris_ as she now started to unveil her anger towards _Carousel_ … -"Now, if you would just return to me… and together… we can be a god… and so we will never have a need for a body to live in…" _Eris_ said as her tone was somewhat angry… and that was the first time that _Eris_ spoke with a bit of harshness because she always speaks in a soft tone.

 _Carousel_ then heavily sighed as _Eris_ started to destroy the whole place… the whole world… _Eris_ unleashed a more devastating weather condition to wipe out the entire planet…

 _Carousel's_ eyes narrowed as she was looking very furious at _Eris_ …

-"Are you not enjoying what I'm doing…?" asked _Eris_ -"The way you look at me… I suppose you still don't want to return to me…?" asked _Eris_

-"Never…!" cried _Carousel_ as she slowly lifted herself with her telekinetic ability and then swiftly flew away… up through the raging skies up above… _Eris_ was caught off guard but then she soon followed _Carousel_ … And as _Eris_ the 'soul entity' is leaving her body… planet _Eris_ … the planet started to collapse… just like a ball of rock that is slowly deteriorating.

In the meantime… inside the huge combat vessel… at the command and control cockpit, _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ witnessed the collapsing of their beloved planet… they were both looking very anxious and in complete awe… and from a distance they saw _Eris_ from a far trying to chase _Carousel_ through the vast depths of the universe…

-"I hope Carousel can lead Eris to the Devourer…" said _Heraldin_ as his tone was distressed

-"I have faith in her that she can…" replied _Faust_ but he too was looking very distressed

The looks on their faces altered when their huge combat vessel has finally reached… planet Iris… _Faust_ and _Heraldin's_ eyes glowed and widened in disbelief…

-"We made it…" _Faust_ said softly…upon seeing the beautiful planet

-"So we're finally here…" _Heraldin_ mumbled to him self.

 _Faust_ and _Heraldin_ were observing how beautiful planet _Iris_ was… planet _Iris_ looks almost like planet _Eris_ too but only with a perfect moon encircling it, unlike planet _Eris_ … which millions of asteroids are encircling it instead of a moon and all the remaining hundreds of _Erishans_ inside the huge combat vessel that they had gathered were also looking at planet _Iris_ through their designated quarter's windows. All the _Erishans_ were relieved to see the planet that they will soon be living at… looks so beautiful.

But… before the huge combat vessel enters the atmosphere of planet Iris… it was unexpectedly struck by a small asteroid from behind… the huge combat vessel then started to malfunction and as it flies through… it was uncontrollably shaking as it enters through the atmosphere of planet _Iris_. And the impact broke almost all the glass like containers filled with souls that are inside the room where _Heraldin_ had put all the souls that he had captured… all the souls that got away were hovering through the air as they cannot completely escape because the room was still tightly shut.

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ then did everything they can to put the huge combat vessel into a still but the damage from its behind was too severe and fire had spread all over the vessel's body too quickly as it slowly plunged through the oceans of planet _Iris_ … the _Erishans_ inside the huge combat vessel then started to panic… they started to run everywhere… as if running around could help them stop the disaster.

And as the huge combat vessel plunged into the deep ocean… waters from the ocean engulfed the vessel and fires around it started to wear down… but the huge combat vessel was now slowly starting to sink into the depths of the ocean… leaving some _Erishans_ stuck into their wrecked quarters and some _Erishans_ started to jumped out of the vessel while _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ then quickly tried to help all the _Erishans_ who are still trapped and got stucked inside the huge combat vessel. _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ had then saved all of the _Erishans_ , and thankfully no one was badly injured and no one was harmed.

Huge bodies of water then started to flood inside the huge combat vessel…

-"Heraldin let's go…" _Faust_ softly said upon seeing the sudden gushed of waters.

-"But… but…" said _Heraldin_

 _Faust_ then quickly strode _Heraldin_ into jumping out of the sinking vessel… into the ocean, while hundreds of Erishans still manages to get out and survive to swim across the nearest land that they could possibly see… the huge combat vessel then slowly sinks into the depths of the ocean.

-"We did everything that we can…" said _Faust_ as he was looking very concern for _Heraldin_. They were both swirling their arms and feet into the water to remain afloat above the ocean.

 _Heraldin_ slightly nodded as he was looking down through the sinking huge combat vessel… _Faust_ unwittingly notices _Heraldin's_ sudden expression…

-"What is it…? What seems to be the problem? No one was hurt." He asked

-"The souls… of my nation…" replied _Heraldin_ in disbelief… as he now remembers the souls that he had captured were still in that room and he didn't even let them escape… _Heraldin_ then tries to swim underneath to free the souls but the huge combat vessel just sank even deeper and deeper making it more impossible for _Heraldin_ to reach into the room where he had placed all the souls that he had captured… _Heraldin_ then had no choice but to surface because he was running out of breath. _Herarldin_ was exhausted as he resurfaced… so _Faust_ helped him to get to the shore.

Both of them were very exhausted as they reached the shore… they lied on the edges of the ocean's shore as they watched the huge suds of water that came rushing out from the huge combat vessel…

-"I guess they will be trapped there forever…" said _Faust_

-"No… not forever…" _Heraldin_ quickly replied as he was catching his breath… -"I will… somehow find a way to free them… and lay them into a much better place, I will not break my promise to them…" He added as there is nothing much more that he can do about it… -"But for now… I will just have to leave them there…"

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ was then left to witness the huge combat vessel's unfortunate mishap.

Then moments later… _Erishans_ who had survived and recently swam across the shore… came into _Heraldin_ and _Faust's_ needs… the _Erishans_ thanked them and offer them whatever help they needed…

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ … and all the hundreds of _Erishans_ who survived the crash were left with nothing… no food… no shelter… no nothing… not even a modern tool that would help them to hunt and look for food… all they had were their lives… and clothes that they were wearing… and each other… but all they actually need is each other, for them to survive in that unfamiliar world that they had just settled in.

The gathering and living together of hundreds of _Erishans_ in planet Iris were short-lived… because of conflicts that started to arise, not everyone is getting an equal share of food and an equal share of shelter. The _Erishans'_ faces were a mixture of delighted and despondent… some are delighted because they had survived the crash and they were given a chance to live again into a beautiful world… but some are despondent because they are not used to live into an unfamiliar territory.

-"We can all survive if we all work together…" _Heraldin_ suggested as he wanted to uplift the hopes of the _Erishans_ … but many _Erishans_ disagreed and proceeded in their own ways… because they believe that if they will all stick together… that they will just end up fighting with each other again because the drive and competition for food and shelter will prompt the conflict.

 _Erishans_ then started to leave by the groups, searching for a lush and abundant vegetation of the planet that is enough to support them in their daily lives.

-"I guess it would be better for us if we just go on our own separate ways…" _Faust_ mumbled to himself… as he saw some _Erishans_ were walking away and they were trying to find their own ways in life.

-"I think so too…" replied _Heraldin_

There were hundreds of _Erishans_ whom _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ helped escape from planet _Eris_ and survived the crash… but they all decided to live in their own separate ways… to avoid conflict with each other. Days and days have passed and some groups had found a haven and some had not… the groups of _Erishans_ who were successful in finding a safe place then started to settle in, and since they had nothing… they started again to make use of dried leaves and dried animal hides for their clothing… caves for their shelter and they hunt their food again using sticks and rocks, because no matter how technologically modern the world that they had come from and used to live in… if they are left with nothing then they have nothing with them and they had no choice but to go back to the traditional primitive instinct of a certain _Erishans's_ will to survive. No matter how hard the _Erishans_ teach their children of modern ways to live… if they didn't have the proof to support their teachings, so then their children just won't understand them. Generations and generations have passed and the world seems just like what _Heraldin_ had witnessed during his younger years in planet _Eris_ … history seems to repeat itself…

 _Heraldin_ and _Faust_ … they decided to settle in at a cave at a foot of a mountain that has a water falls flowing within it…

They were both outside their cave enjoying the scenery… -"This world reminds me of our own world… planet Eris" _Heraldin_ softly said to _Faust_ as he was looking up through the skies… -"Eris was also as beautiful as this planet is… but that was before the Great War ever happened." He added as they were both reminiscing the beauty of their world that they used to live in…

-"And maybe that is why Eris got angry about it…" _Faust_ concluded as he too looked up through the clear skies… and his eyes narrowed as he was anxiously looking up…

 _Heraldin_ nodded… -"That is surely the reason why…" he added –"Now, I understand… Eris is not a dying world, but what we have done to her made her very; very angry that is why Eris was such in turmoil…"

-"Will she ever return…?" asked _Faust_ in a distress manner

 _Heraldin_ slowly turned to face _Faust_ and said… -"I thought you said… you have faith in her that she will…"

 _Faust_ slowly looked down… -"But now I'm feeling that… what if she doesn't…? Yes… she did promise me that she will come back, but it's been years since she left…"

 _Heraldin_ smiled and said… -"I know she will come back for you…"

-"How do know…?" asked _Faust_ as he heavily sighed… -"How do you know that she will come back for me… who am I to her…? She said I was special but she never even said that she loved me…"

 _Heraldin's_ eyes flickered as he slowly looked up through the clear skies again… -"Faust… you know, there are some things that doesn't need to be told because action speaks louder than words…"

 _Faust_ snorted as he found _Heraldin's_ words were too corny and unoriginal.

But _Heraldin_ continued telling him anyway… -"She doesn't need to tell you that she loves you… because when she told you that she wanted you to go on living at the cost of her own life… meaning… you were more than just a special someone to her… and believe me… I have looked into her eyes and I have felt that she also loves you… it's just that she doesn't want to get hurt again… even Eris knew about it, remember…?" said _Heraldin_

 _Faust_ then remembered the scene when _Eris_ did say those words to _Carousel_ that she might get hurt again and he slightly shook his head… -"But, but there are so many questions in my head…" _Faust_ said indecisively… -"Will Carousel succeed in putting a stop to Eris…? And if so… when will she come back…? How long should I wait…? Will I still be alive when she returns…?" _Faust_ slowly asked

 _Heraldin_ slowly and firmly told _Faust_ … -"Carousel, will find a way… believe me, and besides… she is not just a 'splitter' nor just a 'soul seeker'… she maybe… after all… a candidate… a candidate for goddess. We don't know what exactly she can do. We don't know what she is capable of doing."

Years and years have passed… and _Faust_ is still waiting for _Carousel_ to return… and even if _Faust_ is aging slower than the ordinary _Erishans_ around them… the signs of aging is still noticeable on his scruffy face, and finally… _Carousel_ did return. _Faust's_ eyes widened as he saw _Carousel_ in front of him… _Carousel's_ clothes were almost all torn away… leaving just her delicate parts slightly covered. Her eyes were full of eagerness… as she was touching the clock necklace around her neck that _Faust_ had given to her.

-"C…a…r…o…u…s…e…l…" _Faust_ slowly said to himself as his eyes widened. -"You kept your promise…"

 **THE END**

 **Credits**

I would like to dedicate this book to my beloved grandmother who inspired me to write this novel, wishing that one day we could meet again, she passed away when I was just six years old but the memories she left with me is everlasting. And I will forever be grateful for having a wonderful family and friends.


End file.
